2020 vice presidential debate

President Trump has repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.

Tonight, Vice President Mike Pence got the same question – and gave about the same answer, only in more measured tones.

First, Pence reiterated his confidence that the Republican ticket would be victorious on Election Day and talked up the “movement” behind Trump.

Then he pivoted to a rosy summation of Trump’s record and touted the President’s appointment of conservative judges to the federal bench.

Pence went on to accuse Democrats of trying to effectively steal the 2016 election from Trump, citing the investigation into Russian election interference – and parroting Trump’s familiar declaration that the probe found “no obstruction” and “no collusion.”

From there, it was onto impeachment, which Pence – again echoing Trump, though in a lower register – described as being centered on “a phone call.”

After a Hillary Clinton mention, Pence once again and finally used Trump’s equivocal phrasing, saying, “If we have a free and fair election, we'll have confidence in it. And I know and believe that President Donald Trump will be re-elected for four more years.” 

In short, he didn’t answer the question.

Here's how the question played out:

Second lady Karen Pence appeared to break the agreed-upon rules on masks at the vice presidential debate Wednesday evening upon its conclusion.

In the aftermath of the first presidential debate, where some audience members, including the first lady and other Trump family members, removed their masks, the Commission on Presidential Debates mandated that everyone in the audience, with the only exceptions of the candidates and the moderator, wear a mask during future debates.

After the last questions were answers, Pence joined her husband, Vice President Mike Pence, on stage.

Douglas Emhoff joined his wife, Sen. Kamala Harris. Emhoff wore a mask as he stood by Harris. Karen Pence removed her mask.

Pence’s action was another example of the administration flouting its own guidelines on best public health practices and shirking the opportunity to lead on mask wearing.

Pence was present 11 days ago in the White House Rose Garden for an event nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. At least 12 attendees have since tested positive for Covid-19.

Watch:

Vice President Mike Pence said during the debate that “while Joe Biden denied the Green New Deal… the Green New Deal is on their campaign website.” 

Facts First: This is true but needs context. Biden's campaign website does say the resolution is a "crucial framework" for addressing climate change, but his own plan differs from it in several ways. In particular, Biden's plan does not include some of the Green New Deal’s proposed economic actions, such as guaranteeing a job for every American.

After lauding the "framework" of the Green New Deal, Biden's campaign webpage on the environment lays out the bullet points of the candidate’s own plan to combat climate change, which includes items like building out energy-efficient infrastructure and setting a goal for the US to reach zero emissions by 2050.

While the two plans overlap on some environmental objectives, Biden's plan does not include many of the social welfare proposals of the Green New Deal. For instance, he is not calling for a guaranteed job for each American with family and medical leave and paid vacations, as the deal proposes.

In other ways, the proposals differ less dramatically. Biden's plan also has a goal of creating a carbon-pollution-free energy sector by 2035, whereas the Green New Deal proposed reaching 100% clean power in 10 years.

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Sen. Kamala Harris, who was formerly the Attorney General of California and a top prosecutor in San Francisco, embraced her record as a prosecutor on Wednesday night, leading Vice President Mike Pence to quickly accuse her for not doing enough on criminal justice reform.

The fight highlights an issue that has faced the Trump campaign: Attacking Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Harris for being too soft on crime, while also faulting the former California senator for being too hard on crime during her time as a law enforcement official in the state.

Harris has struggled with her prosecutorial record ever since she launched her Democratic presidential campaign in 2019, both leaning on it and running away from it during her primary bid. But Harris’ answer on Wednesday night shows how the Biden campaign believes it could help their bid against Trump and Pence.

Pence hit back at Harris’ comment, noting some of the tough on crime efforts Harris oversaw when she was district attorney in San Francisco and attorney general of California.

“Your record speaks for itself,” Pence said. “President Trump and I have fought for criminal justice reform. … And we will do it for four more years.”

Vice President Mike Pence claimed during tonight's debate that the Biden campaign wants to “ban fracking.” 

Facts First: This is misleading. Joe Biden is not running on a proposal to completely ban fracking (hydraulic fracturing, a drilling method used to extract natural gas or oil). However, there is at least some basis for Pence’s claim: During the Democratic primary, Biden sometimes suggested he was proposing to get rid of all fracking. He's also pledged to "establish an enforcement mechanism to achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050," which would almost certainly require a significant reduction in fracking.

Biden's written plan never included a full ban on fracking; rather, it proposes "banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters," not ending all new fracking anywhere or ending all existing fracking on public lands and waters. Biden has explicitly said he does not support a nationwide fracking ban (though in part because he doesn't believe such a ban would pass).

Biden created confusion about his stance with some of his comments during the Democratic primary. For example, he had this exchange with CNN's Dana Bash during a July 2019 debate:

Could a president even ban fracking alone? No.

Without an act of Congress, the president could not issue an outright ban on fracking across the US. There are, however, a number of regulatory and executive actions an administration could take to prevent or shrink the use of fracking technology, particularly on federal land. However, most fracking takes place on private land, and any attempts to limit it would likely face legal challenges.

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Vice President Mike Pence claimed at tonight's debate that the Obama administration "left the Strategic National Stockpile empty" 

Facts First: This is misleading. 

The Strategic National Stockpile was not empty before the coronavirus pandemic. For example, the stockpile contains enough smallpox vaccines for every American, among other medical resources.  

While Trump isn't wrong to suggest he inherited a depleted stockpile of some medical supplies — the stockpile of masks, for example, was drained and not replenished by the Obama administration — it was not completely empty; he inherited significant quantities of other supplies. Congress repeatedly did not pay for the stockpile to be replenished. And Trump had three years in office to build depleted stockpiles back up. 

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services also confirmed to CNN in late June that there had been about 19,000 ventilators in the national stockpile for “many years,” including 16,660 ventilators that were ready for immediate use in March 2020; the spokesperson confirmed that none of those 16,660 were purchased by the Trump administration.  

You can read a longer fact check here. 

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California Sen. Kamala Harris ducked Vice President Mike Pence's question about whether a Biden administration would seek to add seats to the Supreme Court if the Trump administration pushes through the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to replace former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Harris did not answer directly, instead saying that the Senate should not move forward with Coney Barrett's confirmation.

Pence shot back: "You gave a non-answer. Joe Biden gave a non-answer. The American people deserve a straight answer, and if you haven't figured it out yet, the straight answer is, they are going to pack the Supreme Court."

Biden, too, has avoided the question, including when Trump asked him last week in their first debate. The exchanges highlighted the difference between the Democratic ticket and some on the left of the party who have been invigorated by calls for sweeping change in the face of another Supreme Court pick by Trump. Both, however, have also been careful not to disavow the idea.

Watch the moment:

Mike Pence and Kamala Harris debated the upcoming fight over the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, sparring over how some of Barrett’s religious views could be central to that debate.

“We particularly hope we don’t see the kind of attacks on her Christian faith that we saw before,” Pence said in response to the Supreme Court, noting that some members of the Senate have suggested they have questions about her association with a Christian group called People of Praise.

Pence then hit Harris for questioning another judicial nominee because the pick was a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic group that is anti-abortion.

Harris hit back by casting the attack as personal.

Barrett’s religious beliefs came up during 2017 confirmation hearings to her current seat on the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals. California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein questioned whether the nominee could separate her faith from her legal opinions.

At issue then, as it is now, is how her faith would inform her approach, especially on legal challenges to abortion rights.

Hear the exchange:

About an hour into tonight’s debate, Vice President Mike Pence leads in speaking time with more than 28 minutes, maintaining about a 90 second lead ahead of Sen. Kamala Harris.