The vice presidential debate from Oct. 7 seemed like the only good debate the American people will get for a long time. There were little to no interruptions and it felt like an actual debate.

California Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence began the debate on the topic of the ongoing COVID pandemic. Starting first, Harris began listing the number of COVID deaths and people unemployed. 

By listing off the numbers, Harris was able to then shift the cause of the damage towards the Trump-Pence administration and made her case heard that they are not the best equipped to lead the nation. 

Pence’s only rebuttal was criticizing the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, for refusing to close the United States borders from China. He claims that Biden called the closing of our borders “xenophobic.”

The Trump-Pence administration’s failure is made evident when the Supreme Court confirmation event in the Rose Garden was brought up. 

Harris made an excellent point of questioning why the American people should trust the current administration in the handling of the COVID pandemic when there’s an outbreak in the White House. 

If the administration can’t protect itself from getting infected with COVID, then why should they be trusted in protecting the whole country from it? 

Following that, the topic of discussion was the role of the vice president.

Both candidates are old, with Biden being 77,  and Trump is 74, and that makes this election’s vice presidential candidates more crucial than ever.

Pence thanked the American people for keeping Trump in their prayers while he recovers from infection, and for the health professionals doing everything to help the president recover quickly.

Harris questioned the seriousness of the president’s health and how the current administration has not been transparent on his health. She pointed out Trump will not be transparent about his health because he was not transparent about his tax returns. 

Harris brought up a good question about the president’s growing debt and how his debt could influence his decisions in policies. 

A president in debt is a national security issue to the country as it could interfere with the president’s duties. The American people need a president that is making decisions in the best interest of them not how to lower his own debt.

Climate change was a pivotal discussion due to the raging wildfires on the West Coast, especially Harris’ home state of California.

Pence responded by claiming that his administration has done well for the environment by backing out of the Paris Climate Agreement and rejecting the Green New Deal.

It was noted by Harris that the current administration does not believe in science and therefore does not believe in the legitimacy of climate change. She cited that the Trump-Pence administration took out the words “science” and “climate change” off of the White House website. 

If Biden would be elected as the new president of the United States, the country will reenter the Paris Climate Agreement and he will invest in renewable energy, Harris said.

All in all, this debate was better than the actual presidential debate and both candidates brought new ideas to the table. There was a clearer line of where both candidates stood on certain topics and there were definitely no interruptions. 

The American people were left with more answers than questions about the candidates.