Who is winning the vice president debate

The participants in this debate were also looking beyond November, however. Pence - like most vice-presidents - has his eyes on a presidential bid of his own. To do that, he'll have to win over Trump's base while also casting a wider net to Republicans and right-leaning independents who may have become disaffected with Trumpian politics.

Throughout the debate, he defended Trump, but also tried to carve out his own identity, particularly when discussing issues - like the Supreme Court - near and dear to the hearts of evangelical voters. Religious conservatives, as concerned with social and cultural issues like abortion and religious freedom as they are with more technical policy ones, are Pence's base.

His future political ambitions hinge on their continued enthusiastic support for him. Harris, who at this point last year was running for president herself, tried to prove that she can be a capable standard-bearer for the Democrats once Joe Biden exits the political stage. When given the chance, she spoke about her upbringing and background, taking the opportunity to introduce herself to a larger US audience. Unlike Pence, she frequently talked directly to the camera - conscious that while she was trying to score points, it was equally important for her to connect with the audience.

Four years ago, Democrat Tim Kaine gave an unremarkable performance against Pence, and his national standing hasn't seemed to recover. Harris gave a good enough showing on Wednesday, her one big moment in the spotlight, that she at the very least will avoid Kaine's fate. Both Pence and Harris live to fight another day - and that day could come in just four years. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Dodging questions and interruptions: While the VP debate was more civil, there were still moments of tension. A very different tone from last week. Image source, Reuters.

Harris fails to exploit virus weakness. Pence defends handling of 'super-spreader' Rose Garden event. The defining moment of the Trump presidency Trump says not to fear Covid Do Americans agree? Both sides uncomfortable on climate. Her case that the Trump administration has been a miserable failure is self-evident in the deaths of over , Americans from Covid What could be a more apt metaphor than the fact that debate organizers required an acrylic glass barrier to protect Harris and others from being infected -- from the head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force?

One piece of breaking news: we finally found a wall the Trump team doesn't like. Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in and served as a counselor to Clinton in the White House.

Nayyera Haq: Harris goes after Trump's veracity. Nayyera Haq. Senator Kamala Harris won the debate the moment she said , "You respect the American people when you tell them the truth. Pence made this mistake early in the debate by praising the "transparency" of Trump's Covid response and was quickly called to the mat by Harris, who used the word to pivot to Trump's obfuscation on his taxes, personal health, and myriad other issues.

Four years into the Trump administration, Pence trying to claim the moral high ground of truthiness is a transparent lie. By contrast, Harris' statement that "Donald Trump does not know what it means to be honest" rang clear and true. In the absence of being able to defend Trump's veracity, Pence used his soothing voice to sound reasonable as an intentional contrast to the belligerent approach of the man at the top of his ticket.

Where Trump scared off voters with his aggressive debate performance, Pence went overboard when he commended VP Biden's public service and Senator Harris' historic nomination. Trump has dug such a deep hole on perception that Pence literally resorted to praising his opposition, just to gain some needed nice points. What Pence did achieve was reminding voters about the policy positions adopted by the entire Republican Party.

Pence's calm approach belied the extreme positions supported by the current GOP -- support for dictators, tax cuts for the wealthy, ending reproductive freedoms, and repealing health care protections. Senator Harris made it clear to viewers what is at stake with the Trump-Pence ticket: "They're coming for you.

She served in the Obama administration as a senior adviser in the State Department and a senior director in the White House. Aaron David Miller: The most important vice presidential debate in history that won't change a thing. Aaron David Miller. Yes, this may have been the most important vice-presidential debate in American history. But even with two of the oldest presidential candidates in history, it's hard to imagine that a vice-presidential pick is going to directly influence voters' preference for president.

It probably won't. But before dismissing Wednesday night's encounter as a Seinfeld show about nothing, consider a couple of takeaways. First, had Sen. Kamala Harris melted down, committed some galactic stumble, bumble or tumble, and failed to effectively defend former Vice President Joe Biden and attack Vice President Mike Pence, she might have hurt Biden badly, raising public concern that would have reflected badly on his judgment on a vice-presidential pick.

Instead Harris performed very well in fact better on the debate stage than her putative boss demonstrating competency, compassion on the issues and humor and toughness in standing up to Pence. Second, the not so invisible force hanging over the debate was the coronavirus. From the acrylic glass dividers to President Donald Trump's infection and the Covid cluster in the White House to the Administration's handling of the pandemic, this -- and health care in general --is perhaps a defining issue in influencing voter perceptions and the area in which the Administration is most vulnerable.

Harris did well in taking apart the administration's record, helped by Pence's talking points untethered from reality that made it unmistakably clear that Democrats take seriously the gravest threat to America's public health in a century and Republicans don't. The bottom line is: Harris held her own and then some. So did Pence. The debate won't change the numbers or many folks' minds.

Tara Setmayer: Pence peddled propaganda. Harris brought facts. Tara Setmayer. Coming into tonight's debate, the Trump campaign was already behind in the polls and facing an enormous gender gap with suburban women. With Election Day only weeks away, President Donald Trump's re-election campaign had to stop its downward trajectory if they have any chance of turning things around. Pence's debate performance did not do that. At best, polls remain unchanged.

At worst, the gender gap widens in favor of Biden-Harris. Mike Pence pandered. Kamala Harris prosecuted. While Pence was condescending and canned, Harris was in command and confident. Unlike Pence, who seemed to think Americans wouldn't notice his feeble attempts to gaslight them on Trump's failed Covid response, Kamala Harris talked directly to millions of American impacted by Trump's ineptitude.

Harris' ability to tick off Trump's failures on not only Covid and health care, but on Trump's his feckless foreign policy favoring dictators over allies, pattern of dishonesty and insults against US service members, was a devastating indictment of the era of Trump.

Pence peddled propaganda. Harris did her job presenting the voters with a clear choice between vastly different visions for America's future. Winner, Harris. She is a senior adviser to the Lincoln Project. David Gergen. This vice presidential debate was significantly more civil and more watchable than that shambolic event of last week. Even so, I doubt it rescued Donald Trump from the crumbling of his presidency. Mike Pence gave the best defense any Republican has made of the Trump record, but he was dealt a bad deck of cards.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris performed steadily across the night, avoiding gaffes and protecting the Democrats' lead. That the debate probably changed few minds does not make it insignificant, however.

The Trump White House is falling apart at an astonishing pace. With time running out, they desperately needed a victory tonight. This debate was also important in advancing the political stature of Harris. She missed a few opportunities to score points, including when she failed to attack the Trump's administration handling of a Covid outbreak in the White House itself.

But, overall, her capacity to assemble strong arguments and deliver them with an infectious smile showed she is a real pro. Harris has come a long way in demonstrating that we would be in sound hands if fate calls her to the presidency. Final point: the debate commission needs to change the structure of these debates. Moderators ask about so many topics so quickly that there is no time left for in-depth conversation.

Nine topics in 90 minutes are about five too many. Danielle Pletka: VP debate reminds Americans of pending danger. Danielle Pletka. Kamala Harris was a pleasant reminder of a more genteel era of polite droning, when campaign speeches masqueraded as principle.

This is perhaps why a reality show host won the last bout. Scoring the round, it seemed that Pence edged Harris slightly, if only because he spoke to more than just his base. Harris effectively reminded her audience of the many Covid-related failures of this administration, but otherwise failed to move much beyond the standard Democratic Party talking points. Pence, on the other hand, effectively underscored what to many is one of the more frightening likelihoods of a Biden-Harris administration: A packed Supreme Court.

The fact that Harris refused, like former Vice President Joe Biden before her, to answer the question of whether a Biden administration would support upending the court in order to secure a liberal majority only further implies that this is indeed likely their plan.

There is much -- so very much -- to abhor in what has already come and may yet come from a second Trump term. Yet, with all its failings, Trump's presidency has only accentuated the strength of American institutions often to his chagrin. A Biden administration, coupled with a Democratic Senate and House, would potentially upend those institutions in order to secure outcomes congenial to their base.

On Wednesday night, Americans were reminded of that danger. Until January , Pletka was the senior vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at AEI. Peter Bergen: Mike Pence's impossible task. Peter Bergen. Vice President Mike Pence had an impossible task Wednesday night. As the head of the Trump administration's coronavirus task force, Pence had to defend the administration's record when more than , Americans are already dead from Covid Pence flunked that test, not least because his boss has Covid and is working in the Oval Office without quarantining himself, in defiance of his own administration's guidelines about what to do if you have the disease.

The Trump administration always focuses on the visuals. The images from the debate told one story as both vice presidential candidates were separated by acrylic glass and sat more than 12 feet away from each other -- while Pence resorted to his usual set of bromides about the greatness of the Trump presidency,. At one point, Pence was asked why the US had fared worse than a similar industrialized democracy -- Canada -- with its response to the pandemic.

Pence really had no good answer to that question, instead blaming China. The Chinese certainly deserve some blame for their early missteps in Wuhan, where the virus originated, but that was back in late and early Nine months later and Pence articulated no real plan about how a second Trump administration might try and finally lick this virus. Alice Stewart: Pence won over the undecided voters. Alice Stewart. What a difference a week makes.

The vice presidential debate had less sizzle, but a lot more civility than last week's fiery presidential debate. Kamala Harris did meet rule 1 of vice presidential debates: Do no harm. Vice presidential debates don't generally change the trajectory of a campaign, but the undercard debate is an opportunity to win over voters who are still on the fence.

Undecided voters often decide on style and substance over policy. With that in mind, Pence won the night. Hands down. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy.

Quick polls of who won a political debate are necessarily imperfect indicators. Keeping those shortcomings in mind, the first poll we have of vice presidential debate viewers is good news for Sen. Kamala Harris — and her running mate, Joe Biden. The poll also found that 63 percent of respondents said they thought Harris was qualified to be president, while 65 percent said they thought Pence is qualified. This means many respondents who thought Pence lost the debate still thought he was qualified to be president.

Chalian also pointed out that there was a massive gender gap in opinions of the debate. Per the poll, 69 percent of women who watched thought Harris won, and 30 percent thought Pence did. Among male viewers, it was a near tie — 48 percent thought Harris won, and 46 percent thought Pence did. Tim Kaine D-VA. A vice presidential debate is unlikely to make much of a difference in the broader race — especially this year, with President Donald Trump continuing to dominate the news.

But with Biden continuing to lead big in polls, Trump is running out of time to turn things around.