Who won the Pence-Harris VP debate? Experts’ verdict

Mike Pence and Kamala Harris face off during the VP debate.

Mike Pence and Kamala Harris clashed over the key issues in the VP debate, including the President testing positive for COVID-19. Read our experts’ analysis.

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Greg Sheridan - Foreign editor

Mike Pence was the clear winner in the Vice Presidential debate, though Kamala Harris got in some good shots on Donald Trump’s record on COVID-19 and on Trump’s character.

In fact Pence did a much better job in every way, defending the administration and attacking the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket, than Trump did in his debate.

Modern conservatives need to ask themselves: is the ugliness of modern politics so attractive to them that it is really a betrayal to be civil to opponents as Pence always is, even saying it was an honour to share the stage with Senator Harris?

Greg Sheridan.

That didn’t stop Pence from landing serious blows on the Biden ticket.

He rightly pressed Harris to tell the truth on the Supreme Court - were she and Biden planning to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from nine, to “pack” the court, to destroy the institution because they have not been able to nominate sufficient Supreme Court justices?

The refusal of Biden and Harris to answer this question should be a dominant scandal in the campaign.

That is not to say Harris didn’t do her job as well.

Biden is now a long, long way ahead and Harris did not make any bad mistakes. She rightly pummelled the administration over its handling of Covid-19, although of course the administration is not remotely responsible for all the sins the Democrats claim it is responsible for.

And she looked competent and reasonable throughout. Like Biden, she fled away from her record and towards the right.

That’s a tribute to Trump and Pence in a way, too. This debate won’t determine the election, but it was a good day for the Trump administration

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Cameron Stewart - Washington correspondent

The most important point to make about the debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris is that it will have almost zero impact on who wins this US presidential election.

Both Vice Presidential candidates scored some good hits and made many a tactical dodge, but after this lively 90 minute bout, there was no clear winner or loser.

Cameron Stewart.

Unlike the brawling spectacle of the recent presidential debate, this was a mostly civil affair where we actually got to hear the views and arguments of the candidates. We learned far more than we did during the Trump-Biden fight.

Pence was good, better than many might have expected, and he made several damaging attacks on Harris over her support for the left-wing Green New Deal and her refusal to say if Joe Biden would pack the Supreme Court if elected.

But Harris was also strong, and came armed with a series of good one-liners. Her best moment was on the coronavirus where she clinically dissected the failures of the Trump administration to protect American lives.

Harris was also much stronger on healthcare and on foreign policy where she hammered the lack of a coherent Republican policy to protect pre-existing conditions and on its disregard for alliances. Pence was better on the economy, targeting Biden’s plan to raise taxes and accusing him of surrendering to China.

But will undecided voters make up their minds on the basis of this debate? No.

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Troy Bramston – Senior writer

No vice-presidential debate has ever mattered. But this is no ordinary presidential election. Donald Trump is sick, obese and elderly. Joe Biden would be the oldest elected president and is not as sharp as he once was. So this debate mattered because Mike Pence or Kamala Harris have a greater chance of being president than most running mates.

Troy Bramston.

It was refreshing to see two professional politicians debate with duelling facts and contrasting political arguments. Pence, unlike Trump, said he respected his opponent. He was unruffled and made clear arguments. Harris was pointed and often compelling. She showed her readiness to be president.

Harris had an easier case to make on COVID-19 – the central election issue – because of the Trump-Pence administration’s disastrous record. The US infection rate and death toll is worse than any other comparable nation. Trump getting infected is emblematic of his failures.

The debate was fairly evenly matched. Harris was largely on the offensive; Pence was largely defensive. Pence remained on message but interrupted too much and ignored time limits. Harris was confident and effective on attack but smirked too much when under fire. They both gave as good as they got. The debate will not be a game changer.

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Tom Switzer – Contributor

Maybe the US presidential tickets are upside down. Americans might face a less troubling choice if Mike Pence and Kamala Harris were the presidential candidates rather than the candidates – Donald Trump and Joe Biden – who embarrassed America on the global stage last week.

In an encounter characterised by relatively polite disagreements, Pence and Harris defended their party’s agenda, while carefully avoiding the nasty attacks of last week’s presidential debate. In substance, the candidates echoed the disagreements of Trump and Biden, but with a muted tone that seemed aimed at reassuring the public about their respective commitments to civility.

Tom Switzer.

Even with very few mentions of Trump, Pence exhibited an easy talent as an articulate enunciator of facts and a confident defender of his leader. As for Harris, she held her own, arguing her case, defending her leader while subjecting the administration’s record to scrutiny.

Vice presidential debates have been like the vice presidency itself: well-publicised but largely inconsequential. And the election is certain to be decided less on what the running mates said in their debate than on how the voters view Trump and Biden as leaders and whether, by November 3, the electorate sees another four years of Trump as akin to more chaos and unpredictability.

Debates are partly about momentum. Given that Biden was on a significant upswing after last week’s debate debacle, nothing that happened today is likely to stop that.

Tom Switzer is Executive Director of the Centre for Independent Studies