The 2020 Vice Presidential Debate on October 7th, between Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris, was not quite what I except people anticipated. Compared to the First 2020 Presidential Debate, it was a snoozer, but in reality it was incredibly important for the American people to see that Vice President Pence is the calm to President Trump’s storm. It is also absolutely amazing to hear how many relevant factoids Vice President Pence is able to store away!
Vice President Pence eviscerated Senator Harris in this debate, and anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves. Aside from Vice President Pence’s southern charm and systematically destroyed her arguments and crushed her lies; the Senator would have had to actually answer a question in order to win the debate, a feat which she was utterly unable to accomplish.
Check out 2020 VP Debate: Notable Moments Part 1 for the breakdown of the responses to questions regarding The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Issue of Presidential Disability.
Here’s Part 2 of my breakdown debunking her lies, and pointing out her inability to answer simple questions one would expect a prospective administration to answer, and notable moments from Vice President Pence, in regards to The Economy, Climate Change, China, and the Role of Leadership in America.
The Economy
The next question posed by moderator Susan Page was, “Senator Harris, the Biden, Harris campaign has proposed new programs to boost the economy. And you would pay for that new spending by raising four trillion dollars in taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations. Some economists warn that could curb entrepreneurial ventures that fuel growth and create jobs. Would raising taxes put the recovery at risk?”
Senator Harris makes a “heartfelt” talking point about health and strength of the worker, and follows that with yet another nonanswer by ripping into President Trump over his tax bill that they will repeal should they be elected:
“Joe Biden believes you measure the health and the strength of America’s economy based on the health and the strength of the American worker and the American family. On the other hand, you have Donald Trump who measures the strength of the economy based on how rich people are doing which is why he passed a tax bill benefiting the top one percent and the biggest corporations of America … On day one, Joe Biden will repeal that tax bill, he’ll get rid of it.”
Then proceeds to further speak on the money they’ll spend instead of if the proposed tax policies by the potential Harris-Biden administration would cost the people more money:
“He’ll [Joe Biden] invest in infrastructure. It’s about upgrading our roads and bridges, but also investing in clean energy and renewable energy. Joe was going to invest that money in what we need to do around innovation. There was a time when our country believed in science and invested in research and development, so that we were an innovation leader on the globe. Joe Biden will use that money to invest in education. So for example, for folks who want to go to a two-year community college, it will be free.”
Senator Kamala Harris
Ms Page asked, “Vice President Pence, your administration has been predicting a rapid and robust recovery, but the latest economic report suggests that’s not happening. Should Americans be braced for an economic comeback that is going to take not months, but a year or more?”
Originally, I believed he was answering in a similar nonanswer fashion when he started talking about the previous tax cuts, but then he transitioned into how reversing the tax cuts that benefited middle America would be actually raising taxes:
“When President Trump and I took office, America had gone through the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression. It was when Joe Biden was vice president, they tried to tax and spend, and regulate, and bail our way back to a growing economy. President Trump cut taxes across the board. Despite what Senator Harris says, the average American family of four had $2,000 in savings in taxes. And with the rise in wages that occurred, most predominantly for blue collar, hardworking Americans, the average household income for a family of four increased by $4,000 following President Trump’s tax cuts. But America, you just heard Senator Harris tell you, on day one, Joe Biden’s going to raise your taxes.”
Vice President Mike Pence
He continued on to give proof of the impact the Trump Administration has already had on making the economy head towards the booming prepandemic economy America was experiencing:
“right after a time where we’re going through a pandemic that lost 22 million jobs at the height, we’ve already added back 11.6 million jobs because we had a president who cut taxes, rolled back regulation, unleashed American energy, fought for free and fair trade and secured four trillion dollars from the Congress of the United States to give direct payments to families, save 50 million jobs through the Paycheck Protection Program. We literally have spared no expense to help the American people and the American worker through this.”
Vice President Mike Pence
Aside from none of that making sense as to how repealing Trump Tax Cuts would be not raising taxes on the people who benefited from the tax cuts, she decided to throw fracking into the mix. She specifically stated:
“Joe Biden will not end fracking, he has been very clear about that.”
Senator Kamala Harris
Contrary to what she said above, there have been multiple occasions that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have voiced that they would put an end to and ban fracking, and Vice President Pence didn’t fail to point that out:
“You yourself said on multiple occasions when you were running for president, that you would ban fracking. Joe Biden looked at a supporter in the eye and pointed and said, “I guarantee, I guarantee that we will abolish fossil fuels.”“
Vice President Mike Pence
Vice President Mike Pence wasn’t wrong, and there is video evidence to prove it:
He followed up with a conclusion to his answer to the original question posed about the economic recovery of the nation:
“They have a $2 trillion version of the Green New Deal, Susan, that your newspaper, USA Today, said really wasn’t that very different from the original Green New Deal. More taxes, more regulation, banning fracking, abolishing fossil fuel, crushing American energy and economic surrender to China is a prescription for economic decline. President Trump and I will keep America growing, the V-shape recovery that’s underway right now will continue with four more years of President Donald Trump.”
Climate Change
On the next subject of Climate Change, the next leading question presented to The Vice President was, “Do you believe as the scientific community has concluded, that man-made climate change has made wildfires bigger, hotter, and more deadly and have made hurricanes wetter, slower and more damaging?”
The Vice President started off with a hat tip to what the Trump Administration has already accomplished in regards to the environment:
“I’m very proud of our record on the environment, on conservation. According to all of the best estimates, our air and land are cleaner than any time ever recorded. Our water is among the cleanest in the world. And just a little while ago, the president signed the Outdoors Act. It’s the largest investment in our public lands and public parks in 100 years. So President Trump has made a commitment to conservation and to the environment.”
Vice President Mike Pence
He then went on to acknowledge climate change, what we’ve done to address it as a nation, and the impact that it has made; making sure to reiterate the Former Vice President and Senator Harris’ history of making claims that they’ll ban fracking:
“Now with regard to climate change, the climate is changing, but the issue is what’s the cause and what do we do about it? President Trump has made it clear that we’re going to continue to listen to the science. […] What’s remarkable is the United States has reduced CO2 more than the countries that are still in the Paris Climate Accord, but we’ve done it through innovation. And we’ve done it through natural gas and fracking, which Senator, the American people can go look at the record. I know Joe Biden says otherwise now, as you do, but the both of you repeatedly committed to abolishing fossil fuel and banning of fracking.”
Vice President Mike Pence
He then clarified the answer to Ms Page’s original question, in regards to the climate change affecting the fires and hurricanes across the country, with practically answered:
“With regard to wildfires, President Trump and I believe that forest management has to be front and center. And even Governor Gavin Newsom from your state has agreed, we’ve got to work on forest management. And with regard to hurricanes, the National Oceanic Administration tells us that actually as difficult as they are, there are no more hurricanes today than there were 100 years ago.”
Vice President Mike Pence
In a surprisingly excellent question from Susan Page she said, “Senator Harris, as the vice president mentioned, you co-sponsored the Green New Deal in Congress, but Vice President Biden said in last week’s debate that he does not support the Green New Deal. But if you look at the Biden-Harris campaign website, it describes the Green New Deal as a crucial framework. What exactly would be the stance of a Biden-Harris administration toward the Green New Deal?”
Senator Harris jumped right into it with a bald-faced lie that she had already been called out on by her opponent and the moderator in this debate:
“So, first of all, I will repeat and the American people know that Joe Biden will not ban fracking. That is a fact. That is a fact.”
Senator Kamala Harris
No, Senator, you are mistaken. Joe Biden will ban fracking. That is a fact. That is a fact:
“So let’s talk about who is prepared to lead our country over the course of the next four years on what is an existential threat to us as human beings. Joe is about saying we’re going to invest that in renewable energy, which is going to be about the creation of millions of jobs. We will achieve net zero emissions by 2050, carbon neutral by 2035. Joe has a plan… We will also reenter the Climate Agreement with pride.”
Senator Kamala Harris
Susan Page then asked, “Senator Harris just said that climate change is an existential threat. Vice President Pence, do you believe that climate change poses an existential threat?” He acknowledged that “the climate is changing,” saying, “we’ll follow the science.” He then redirected away from the ridiculous question back to Kamala denying that they would be raising taxes in the Biden Administration while not allowing the fracking lie to be swept under the rug again:
“But once again, Senator Harris is denying the fact that they’re going to raise taxes on every American. Joe Biden said twice in the debate last week, that on day one, he was going to repeal the Trump tax cuts. Those tax cuts delivered $2,000 in tax relief to the average family of four across America. And with regard to banning fracking, I just recommend that people look at the record. You yourself said repeatedly that you would ban fracking. You were the first Senate co-sponsor of the Green New Deal. And while Joe Biden denied the green new deal, Susan, thank you for pointing out. The Green New Deal is on their campaign website… the American people have always cherished our environment and will continue to cherish it. We’ve made great progress reducing CO2 emissions through American innovation and the development of natural gas through fracking. We don’t need a massive $2 trillion Green New Deal that would impose all new mandates on American businesses and American families.”
Vice President Mike Pence
Kamala made claims about our relationship with China saying, “The vice-president earlier referred to it as part of what he thinks is an accomplishment. The president’s trade war with China. You lost that trade war. You lost it. What ended up happening is because of a so-called trade war with China, America lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs.” The Vice President directly contradicted her claims with the reality of our US-China relations:
“Look, lost the trade war with China? Joe Biden never fought it. Joe Biden has been a cheerleader for communist China over the last several decades… When Joe Biden was vice-president, we lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs. Obama said… we needed a magic wand to bring them back. In our first three years after we cut taxes- Roll back regulation, unleashed American energy. This administration saw 500,000 manufacturing- jobs created.”
Vice President Mike Pence
In a affirmative display of who was the one wielding the power in the debate, despite the factors leaning against him such as Susan Page’s clear partisan bias, Vice President Pence said very few words that showed Senator Kamala Harris’ complete lack of confidence by declaring how much time she was allowed to respond to him, and she agreed to it without a moment’s hesitation:
China
The next subject of the debate was that of relations with China, asking, “President Trump again, blamed it for the Coronavirus saying China will pay. Vice President Pence, how would you describe our fundamental relationship with China? Competitors? Adversaries? Enemies?”
Instead of diving in to answer the question, in Pence fashion, he made sure to address the last statement made by Kamala Harris first saying:
“American people deserve to know Senator Kamala Harris was one of only 10 members of the Senate to vote against the USMCA. It was a huge win for American auto workers. It was a huge win for American farmers, especially dairy in the upper Midwest. But Senator you said it didn’t go far enough on climate change, you put your radical environmental agenda ahead of American auto workers and a head of American jobs. I think the American people deserve to know that it’s probably why Newsweek magazine said that Kamala Harris was the most liberal member of the United States Senate in 2019, more liberal than Bernie Sanders, more liberal than any of the others in the United States Senate.”
Vice President Mike pence
He then proceeded to address Ms Page’s question at hand about China:
“China is to blame for the coronavirus and President Trump is not happy about it. He’s made that very clear, made it clear again today that China and the world health organization did not play straight with the American people. They did not let our personnel into China to get information on the Coronavirus until the middle of February. Fortunately, President Trump in dealing with China from the outset of this administration, standing up to China that had been taking advantage of America for decades in the wake of Joe Biden’s cheerleading for China. President Trump made that decision before the end of January to suspend all travel from China. And again, the American people deserve to know Joe Biden opposed President Trump’s decision to suspend all travel from China. He said it was hysterical.”
Vice President Mike Pence
When posed the exact same question Kamala Harris jumps directly into an assault on the Trump Administration while doing nothing to answer the question, per usual:
“the Trump administration’s perspective and approach to China has resulted in the loss of American lives, American jobs, and America’s standing… We mentioned before, the trade deal, the trade war, they wanted to call it with China. It resulted in the loss of over 300 manufacturing jobs and a manufacturing recession and the American consumer paid thousands of dollars, more for goods because of that failed war that they called it… formerly allied countries have now decided that they hold in greater esteem and respect Xi Jinping the head of the Chinese communist party than they do Donald Trump. The President of the United States, the commander in chief of the United States. This is where we are today because of a failure of leadership by this administration.”
Senator Kamala Harris
Role of Leadership in America
Susan Page then posed the most simple question of the debate to Senator Harris, “What is your definition of the role of American leadership in 2020?”
The definition of the role of American leadership, I wonder what that looks like to Kamala? You guessed it, another nonanswer. Launching into what foreign policy entails, instead of the role of American leadership, she then spoke like she was talking to kindergarteners explaining why we have to treat our classmates the way we want to be treated. Then in common Democrat form, she implied he was a dictator:
“He [Joe Biden] says, “Foreign policy, it might sound complicated, but really it’s relationships.” Just think about it as relationships. So we know this in our personal and professional relationships, you got to keep your word to your friends. Got to be loyal to your friends. People who’ve stood with, you got to stand with them. You got to know who your adversaries are and keep them in check. But what we have seen with Donald Trump is that he has betrayed our friends and embraced dictators around the world.“
Senator Kamala Harris
She proceeded to go on a one minute rant over her unsatisfactory views on President Trumps foreign policies, and ended with a nonanswer that led me to believe she forgot what the actual question was, after being so incredibly off topic from the role of leadership in America, unless she thinks leadership’s role is “about relationships”:
“So Susan it’s about relationships. And the thing that has always been part of the strength of our nation in addition to our great military has been that we keep our word, but Donald Trump doesn’t understand that because he doesn’t understand what it means to be honest. He doesn’t understand what it means to be honest.”
Senator Kamala Harris
Vice President Mike Pence’s excellent response to what Kamala claimed:
Thank you. Well, President Trump kept his word when we moved the American embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Israel. When Joe Biden was vice president, they promised to do that and they never did.
We stood strong with our allies, but we’ve been demanding. NATO is now contributing more to our common defense than ever before thanks to President Trump’s leadership.
We’ve strengthened our alliances across the Asia Pacific, and we’ve stood strong against those who would do us harm.
When President Trump came into office, ISIS had captured an area of the middle East, the size of Pennsylvania, but President Trump unleashed the American military and our armed forces destroy the ISIS caliphate and took down their leader, al-Baghdadi without one American casualty.
Al-Baghdadi was responsible for the death of thousands, but notably America’s hearts today are with the family of Kayla Mueller. Her parents, which are here with us tonight in Salt Lake City. Today, two of the ISIS killers responsible for Kayla Mueller’s murder were brought to justice in the United States.
Jihadi John was killed on the battlefield along with the other beetle. The reality is that when Joe Biden was vice president, we had an opportunity to save Kayla Mueller. Breaks my heart to reflect on it, but the military came into the oval office, presented a plan, they said they knew where Kayla was.
Baghdadi had held her for 18 months, abused or mercilessly before they killed her, but when Joe Biden was Vice President they hesitated for a month, and when armed forces finally went in, it was clear she’d been moved two days earlier. And her family says with a heart that broke the heart of every American, that if president Donald Trump had been president, they believe Kayla would be alive today.
So, if we destroy the ISIS caliphate and you talk about re-entering the Iran nuclear deal. I mean the last administration transferred $1.8 billion to the leading state sponsor of terrorism.
President Trump got us out of the deal. And when Qassem Soleimani was traveling to Baghdad to do harm to Americans, President Trump took him out. America is safer, our allies are safer and the American people know president Donald Trump will never hesitate to take action to defend the American people.
Vice President Mike Pence
In a show of Kamala’d cold character, in what she must have thought would be interpreted as sincerity, she gave her condolences to the family, segueing before even taking a breath, in the same sentence, to switch topics to Soleimani:
“First of all, to the Mueller family, I know about your daughter’s case, and I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. What happened to her is awful and it should have never happened, and I know Joe feels the same way, and I know that president Obama feels the same way, but you mentioned Soleimani. Let’s start there.“
Senator Kamala Harris
Apparently the subject of leadership’s role in America had long since been abandoned by both sides. Instead of focusing on the subject at hand, or the new subject she herself had deflected the conversation towards- foreign policy and “relationships,” she launches a strike against President Trump spewing forth lies about his feelings about our military:
“So, after the strike on Soleimani, there was a counter strike on our troops in Iraq, and they suffered serious brain injuries, and do you know what Donald Trump dismissed them as? Headaches. And this is about a pattern of Donald Trump’s where he has referred to our men who are serving in our military as suckers and losers. Donald Trump, who went to Arlington cemetery and stood above the graves of our fallen heroes and said, “What’s in it for them?” Because of course, he only thinks about what’s in it for him. Let’s take what he said about John McCain, a great American hero, and Donald Trump says, “He doesn’t deserve to be called a hero because it was a prisoner of war.””
Senator Kamala Harris
Kamala’s claim about The President “dismissing” the 34 traumatic brain injuries, not “severe brain injuries”, was in fact him being relieved that they weren’t severely injured, as TBI’s can potentially be no more than a severe headache. He was taken out of context and in fact said, “No, I don’t consider them very serious injuries relative to other injuries that I’ve seen,” the president said, and described meeting previously with U.S. troops wounded by roadside bombs. “I’ve seen people with no legs and with no arms. I’ve seen people that were horribly, horribly injured in that area, that war.”
One claim, the suckers and losers, was from an article in The Atlantic that came from an “anonymous source.” The letter from “Donald J. Trump For President” points out that the anonymous accounts cited in The Atlantic article “were directly contradicted on the record by twenty-one individuals present with President Trump that day” and provides a list of people who have gone on the record to refute The Atlantic’s false claims about the incident. Even John Bolton who despises President Trump even spoke out against it.
As for the Arlington Cemetery claim, USA Today wrote a lovely piece on how The President felt guilty for not visiting previously, and made a unexpected stop to the Arlington Cemetery, where over 400,000 of our nation’s veterans are laid to rest. He made the visit in the rain.
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Vice President Pence was righteously outraged, though his composure didn’t change much, and insisted on moderator Susan Page allowing him to respond to such egregious attacks on the integrity of The President of the United States of America:
“Slanders against President Donald Trump regarding men and women of our armed forces are absurd. My son is in captain in the United States Marine Corps. My son-in-law’s deployed in the United States Navy. I can assure all of you with sons and daughters serving in our military, President Donald Trump, not only respects, but reveres all of those who serve in our armed forces and any suggestion, otherwise is ridiculous.”
Vice President Mike Pence
He continued on at the beginning of his time for the next subject, The Supreme Court, and pointed out:
The American people deserve to know Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general was responsible for the death of hundreds of American service members. When the opportunity came, we saw him headed to Baghdad to kill more Americans. President Trump didn’t hesitate and Qassem Soleimani is gone, but you deserve to know the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris actually criticized the decision to take out Qassem Soleimani. it’s really inexplicably, but with regard to Joe Biden, it’s explainable because history records a Joe Biden actually opposed the raid against a Osama bin Ladin. It’s absolutely essential that we have a commander in chief who will not hesitate to act to protect American lives and to protect American service members, and that’s what you have in President Donald Trump.
That concludes Part 2 of the 2020 VP Debate: Notable Moments. Part 3 of the 2020 VP Debate: Notable Moments is coming up next, and check out Part 1 of the 2020 VP Debate: Notable Moments here.
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