Mike Pence has the toughest job in politics tonight: defending Donald Trump's pandemic response
Yes, it’s the undercard. No, it probably won’t alter the course of the campaign. But Trump is 74 and Joe Biden is 77. What Pence and Kamala Harris say is likely to be seen through that lens. And unlike the first presidential debate last week, you might be able to hear them speak.Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing in April 2020.
And Pence? The polite thing to say is that he’s steady, if at times boring. But who knows what Republicans will be in the mood for personality-wise after four or eight years of Trump. His approval ratings among Republicans arePence’s future prospects are inextricably tied to Trump, and his politics are full-on MAGA. But he has also been careful to draw some distinctions from the president — something he will likely have to do again tonight.
Last week, when Trump was hospitalized, it appeared that Harris might have to moderate her biting criticism of the president, a delicate assignment. But now that Trump is back at the White House — and tweeting furiously — no one will expect her to go soft. If Pence can do anything for Trump tonight, it will be to reset the Supreme Court hearings as a focus of the campaign. Republicans believe highlighting Barrett could energize base voters and persuade conservative-leaning independents to get over their reservations about Trump’s temperament or other aspects of his job performance.
Harris won the first round of the debate, and it hasn’t even started. Plexiglass will separate the two candidates, a clear reminder of the Trump administration’s inability to control the coronavirus pandemic, even inside the White House.
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