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What time is the VP debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence and where can you watch it?

Election 2020 Debate (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Election 2020 Debate (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

On Wednesday (7 October), the vice president of the United States Mike Pence and VP candidate Kamala Harris will face each other in a debate that has been highly anticipated by voters.

The debate will kick off at 9pm East Coast time and run for 90 minutes, until 10:30. Moderator Susan Page will choose six debate topics and each one will be given 15 minutes to be debated. All the major news channels, including NBC, ABC, C-SPAN, CBS, Fox News, Fox News Business and Spectrum Networks will show the debate without commercial interruption. YouTube, Apple TV and Amazon Prime are among the online services expected to stream the debate.

Who: Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris

What: 2020 Vice Presidential debate

Where: University of Utah, Salt Lake City

When: 7 October 2020

Timings:

7pm-8:30 MDT (Salt Lake City, Utah)

9pm EST to 10:30 EST (New York, New York)

6pm-7:30 PDT (LA California)

2am-3:30 BST (London England)

What: 90 minute debate, hosted by USA Today’s Susan Page. Topics TBD

After the 29 September debate between President Donald Trump and candidate Joe Biden, changes in the debate format have been flouted by the Commission on Presidential Debates., but no formal changes to the Vice Presidential debate has been yet announced. The debate was originally to be held at the University of Notre Dame, but the location was moved to Salt Lake City’s University of Utah after a coronavirus outbreak was reported at Notre Dame, including the school’s president Rev. John Jenkins, who attended a White House function without a face mask.

Interest is high for this debate, as the two candidates could not be more dissimilar. Former prosecutor Kamala Harris is known for her fierce rhetorical skills and direct lines of questioning. She was widely seen as the winner of her primary debate against now-running mate Joe Biden.

Mike Pence is the former governor of Indiana, House Representative and a former conservative radio show host. He is known for a staid demeanor that doesn’t crack under pressure, as evidenced by his performance in the 2016 debate against former VP candidate Tim Kaine.

Furthermore, the two candidates disagree on multiple hot-button issues including abortion, the Supreme Court, climate change and the White House’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Mike Pence is a Evangelical, conserative Christian whose beliefs infamously do not allow him to spend any time alone with a woman who is not his wife, Karen Pence. He wrote in a 1999 op-ed on the animated Disney film Mulan: "Moral of story: women in military, bad idea."

Kamala Harris’ public persona is steeped in an image of modern independence. Hers is a career defined by ‘firsts’, including first woman and first person of colour to be San Francisco’s District Attorney, first South Asian woman to serve as a congressional senator and first WOC to run for vice president on a major ticket. Recently, footage of Harris walking to a campaign event dressed in slacks, a blazer and Chuck Taylor sneakers went viral and has since been used in a campaign ad encouraging young leaders of the future.

Debate moderator Susan Page has not yet released the debate topics. This may be related to a breakneck news cycle that included a rash of coronavirus diagnosis in the White House, including the President, the First Lady, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany and the President’s personal aide Nick Luna.

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