Washington, October 8:  Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in a face-off with each other at the US Vice Presidential 2020 debate discussed and debated on several issues.

From the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, jobs, taxes, climate change, racial discrimination and foreign policy, the two panellists argued with each other by remaining more cordial in comparison with the Presidential Debate. US Vice Presidential Debate 2020: Kamala Harris Blasts Donal Trump Administration's Pandemic Response as the 'Greatest Failure', Says 'Joe Biden Has a Plan to Tackle the COVID-19 Pandemic'.

Handling of COVID-19 Pandemic

The discussion started with both leaders discussing the country's Covid-19 response. Harris said Trump administration's handling of the pandemic has been the 'greatest failure' in US history. Harris said, "President & Vice President were informed about the nature of this pandemic, that is lethal & airborne... Even today, they still don't have a plan. Joe Biden has."

To which, Pence replied saying, "When I look at their plan, they talk about advancing testing, creating new PPE kits, developing a vaccine. Looks a little bit like plagiarism which Joe Biden knows little about." When Is Second Presidential Debate in the US? Check Date, Time, Venue and Complete Schedule.

Racial Justice:

The panellists also discussed on racial justice and the recent killing of black American citizens by police. Senator Kamala Harris spoke about George Floyd's death and said that American citizens irrespective of age, race and gender marched shoulder to shoulder towards achieving the objective of equal justice under law.

US-China Relationship:

On the subject of US-China relationship, Harris said that Trump is “obsessed” with China and started the greatest trade war in the world which she believes the United States has "clearly" lost. However, Pence rebutted saying “Lost the trade war with China? Joe Biden never fought it."  At the sideline of the debate, Donald Trump lauded Pence and said that Harris is a "gaffe machine"

Harris attacks Trump’s tax document revelation:

Harris attacked Donald Trump over his tax returns details as released by the New York Times last month and laid emphasis on the need for “transparency”. While Harris lauded Joe Biden for being open about every issue, Pence replied by touting Trump as the “job creator” and that he is a “businessman”. , "

Further attacking Trump, Kamala Harris said, "President Trump betrayed friends, embraced dictators."

The debate spanned 90 minutes and the candidates sat just over 12 feet apart, as opposed to the original 7 feet that had been planned. A pair of plexiglass barriers separated the two. Pence and Harris were seated behind a desk, unlike the presidential debate. In this case, as well, the candidates didn't shake hands before the start of the debate.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 08, 2020 08:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).