Pence, Harris face off in VP debate with diverging views of America

Continuing on the theme of transparency, Page asked Harris, "Do voters have a right to know more detailed health information about presidential candidates especially when they're facing a challenge?"

Harris said "absolutely" and raised recent reporting on Trump's taxes. 

"That's why Joe Biden has been so incredibly transparent, and certainly by contrast, the president has not. Both in terms of health records, but also let's look at taxes. We now know because of great investigative journalism that Donald Trump paid $750 in taxes. When I first heard about it, I literally said, 'You mean $750,000?'" Harris said. "And it was like, 'No, $750.'" 

"We now know Donald Trump owes and is in debt for $400 million," she said, in reference to New York Times reporting. "It would be really good to know who the president of the United States, the commander in chief, owes money to because the American people have a right to know what is influencing the president's decisions and is he making those decisions on the best interest of the American people, of you, or self-interest?"

Pence defended the attack by painting Trump as a "businessman" and "job creator."

"He's paid tens of millions of dollars in taxes, payroll taxes, property taxes. He's created tens of thousands of American jobs. The president said those public reports are not accurate and the president's also released literally stacks of financial disclosures the American people can review just as the law allows," Pence said, though Trump has not released his tax returns, repeatedly saying they're under audit. 

When asked about whether Harris had spoken with Biden about a plan in case of presidential disability, she touted her career and the historic nature of her nomination, but she said their shared purpose is the reason she is on the ticket with Biden.

"I think Joe has asked me to serve with him because he knows that we share, we share a purpose which is about lifting up the American people," Harris said. "And after the four years that we have seen of Donald Trump, unifying our country around our common values and principles."

In response to the same question, Pence touted the "transparency" that the White House practiced while the president was hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center. 

"The American people have a right to know about the health and well-being of their president and we'll continue to do that," Pence said.

During the first open discussion session, Page asked Harris if she would take a COVID-19 vaccine if it was approved by the Trump administration.

"If the public health professionals -- if Dr. Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I'll be the first in line to take it, absolutely," Harris said. "But if Donald Trump tells us I should take it -- that we should take it, I'm not taking it."

Page tried to move on to the next topic -- the role of the vice president -- but Pence used his uninterrupted two minutes to respond to Harris' comment on a potential vaccine and to criticize how the Obama administration handled the Swine Flu or H1N1 pandemic of 2009. 

"We have five companies in phase three clinical trials and we're right now producing tens of millions of doses," the vice president said.  "So, the fact that you continue to undermine public confidence in a vaccine, if a vaccine emerges during the trump administration, I think is unconscionable."

"And senator, I just ask you, stop playing politics with peoples' lives. The reality is, that we will have a vaccine, we believe, before the end of this year," he added.

In light of the president's recent diagnosis, Page directly asked Pence, "How can you expect Americans to follow the administration's safety guidelines to protect themselves from COVID when you at the White House have not been doing so?"

"Well, the American people have demonstrated over the last eight months that, when given the facts, they're willing to put the health of their families and their neighbors and people they don't know first," Pence said.

Pence also addressed the Sept. 26 Rose Garden event during which social distancing and masks weren't enforced and after which several White House officials tested positive.

"Many of the people who were at that event, Susan, actually were tested for coronavirus, and it was an outdoor event which all of our scientists regularly and routinely advise," Pence said. "The difference here is, President Trump and I trust the American people to make choices in the best interest of their health."