It’s been a chaotic few days since Donald Trump was hospitalized after testing positive for coronavirus. But there’s a chance for something approaching an episode of normality in US politics on Wednesday, when the first and only vice-presidential debate takes place.
Democratic challenger Kamala Harris and Trump’s vice-president, Mike Pence, will face each other in Utah, where debate organizers have been forced to take extra precautions after Trump and a growing number of his entourage came down with Covid-19 shortly after last week’s first presidential debate.
The coronavirus crisis is expected to dominate the proceedings. Having downplayed the risk and impact of Covid-19 for months, Trump has continued to disregard medical advice even after his diagnosis, and left hospital on Monday to return to the White House.
Here’s what you need to know.
When is the debate?
It will begin at 9pm eastern time (ET) on Wednesday, and run until 10.30pm ET.
Where is it?
Salt Lake City, Utah – specifically, at the University of Utah’s Kingsbury Hall. In election terms, Utah is strategically unimportant. It’s a solidly Republican state that last backed a Democrat in 1964, and Trump, while unpopular in Utah, is still expected to win there in November.
Who is moderating?
Susan Page, the Washington bureau chief of USA Today and a biographer of former first lady Barbara Bush.
In September, USA Today was forced to defend Page, after it emerged she hosted a “Girl’s Night Out” party at her home to honor Trump health official Seema Verma.
Details of Page’s party, held in November 2018, emerged after a congressional investigation into Verma.
USA Today said Page spent $4,000 of her own money hosting the event. The newspaper said the event was intended to honor both Republican and Democratic women, and fell “well within the ethical standards that our journalists are expected to uphold”.
Fox News host Chris Wallace faced much criticism after he had the difficult task of hosting the first presidential debate, which descended into chaos as Trump repeatedly interrupted both Wallace and Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden. The vice-presidential debate is expected to be more civil.
What’s the format?
There’ll be nine 10-minute segments, and each candidate will have two minutes to respond to the opening question in each segment.
This should mean more topics can be covered than in the presidential debate, which was divided into six sections.
What are they going to discuss?
Page hasn’t revealed the topics yet, but coronavirus is likely to be at the top of her list.
On Tuesday public health experts said Trump had endangered Americans by saying people should not fear coronavirus, while a mask-free event at the White House has been linked to a number of government-officials falling ill.
Pence, who served as head of the coronavirus task force, is likely to be asked about the government’s efforts to combat the virus, which has now killed 210,000 people in the US.
Are there any extra coronavirus protections?
The Biden-Harris campaign asked the commission on presidential debates to adopt more protective measures after Trump contracted coronavirus last week.
Harris and Pence will be 13ft away from each other – in the presidential debate Biden and Trump were 7ft apart – and there will be a plexiglass barrier between the candidates.
Pence’s staff has mocked Harris’s push for stricter safety measures.
“If Sen Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it,” Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller told Axios.
The university of Utah ran a lottery to decide which students would attend the debate. Fewer than 100 students will be allowed in Kingsbury Hall, and face masks will be mandatory.
How are Harris and Pence preparing?
Pete Buttigieg, the 38-year-old former mayor who ran against Harris and Biden for president before Biden emerged as the candidate, has taken on the role of Pence in a series of mock debates. Buttigieg, like Pence, is from Indiana, although the two are eons apart politically and personally.
Harris, a former prosecutor, won rave reviews for her performance in an early Democratic debate, when she criticized Biden for his record on race.
Mike Pence v Kamala Harris: Trump’s health raises stakes of vice-presidential debate
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Axios reported that Harris had similarly planned to go on the attack on Wednesday, tying Pence to Trump and rebuking the pair over their coronavirus response, healthcare and beyond. The California senator had apparently “planned a handful of anti-Trump zingers”, but given the president’s ill-health, she will tone it down.
Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, has been helping Pence with his debate prep, filling in for Harris. Some of Pence’s preparation has involved developing ways to attack Harris “without opening himself up to criticism that he is acting in a disrespectful or sexist way”, according to NBC News.
How can I watch?
ABC, CBS, CNN, C-Span, FOX and NBC will all stream the event, according to the commission on presidential debates. News channels Fox News and MSNCBC will also feature the debate, and it will be available on the websites of most of those channels.
Outside the US, viewers can watch the debate on C-Span, a non-profit bipartisan cable channel which televises government proceedings. C-Span will run coverage on its website and YouTube channel.
The Guardian will also be streaming the debate, as well as offering live coverage, fact-checking and analysis.
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