As Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris left the debate stage on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, one question was left to be answered: who won?
Members of the national media quickly took sides, some supporting Harris’ prosecutorial style and others praising Pence’s defense of the current administration. Perhaps the clearest winner — one for which all sides can agree — was the American people, who witnessed an improved, albeit far from perfect, debate when compared to last week’s presidential debacle.
New York Times op-ed writer Héctor Tobar wrote that Harris was the clear winner of the debate.
“From her opening remarks, Harris attacked with the purpose and the intelligence of a super-prepared prosecutor,” he said. “She hit the president on a series of focused messages: He is dishonest, incompetent, vain and the ‘greatest failure’ in our history. Mike Pence made a smoother argument for Trump than Trump did, but he was dodging and playing defense most of the evening.”
The Wall Street Journal editorial board came to Pence’s defense, saying the vice president performed “as well as he could.”
“This clash did show that Mr. Pence is much more than merely a loyal deputy, and that Ms. Harris’ views are much further to the left than Democrats want Americans to know,” Thursday’s editorial read. “Mr. Trump has to make the election about the policy contrasts to have any chance of victory, and Mr. Pence showed how to do it.”
Washington Post columnist Alyssa Rosenberg called the debate “boring” — but after last week’s chaotic presidential debate, that’s a good thing.
“By comparison, the vice presidential debate was the political equivalent of a dose of Ambien,” she wrote. “Sure, the candidates interrupted each other and talked over moderator Susan Page. Yes, there was passive-aggressive head-shaking and the candidates taking swipes at their opponents past votes and positions. But even the aspects of politics that generally feel off-putting had an oddly soothing quality.”
Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi criticized Pence for his hollow defense of Trump and the administration’s COVID-19 response.
“For most of the night, Pence did what he always does for Trump — denied facts and defended the indefensible,” she wrote. “Harris is right; (Trump) has no credibility when he talks about cures and vaccines and what it takes to stop the coronavirus. No debate spin from his vice president changes that.”
CNN contributor Scott Jennings praised Pence for his ability to discuss policy and contrast his platform with the Biden/Harris ticket.
“Pence conducted a master class in how to prepare for and execute a clear, winning debate strategy,” Jennings said. “He sliced and diced his way through taxes, fracking, the Green New Deal, and which ticket is best to handle America’s future recovery, winning every exchange on those topics. Pence did what Trump failed to do in his debate against Biden — recognize his opponent’s mistakes and then clearly drive home the winning point.”
Russell Berman, a writer for The Atlantic, said Wednesday’s civil, structured debate offered Americans “a window into a world where Donald Trump isn’t president.”
“Trump’s exit won’t erase the deep political disagreements Americans have, nor will it automatically restore the norms he has weakened,” he wrote. “But tonight’s debate hinted that, at a minimum, those battles will proceed more civilly. If that is the main takeaway that viewers have, perhaps the advantage goes to Biden, no matter how effectively Pence made the president’s case tonight. After all, it is Biden who is offering America a return to normalcy — a calmer, yes, even a more boring presidency.”
The Deseret News editorial board noted the debate’s civility, a stark contrast from last week, but expressed a desire for more substance.
“Wednesday night’s debate was civil, but sadly lacked direct responses from the candidates to specific questions,” today’s editorial reads. “And by the time moderator Susan Page got to the final question of the night — an excellent one from Springville, Utah, eighth grader Brecklynn Brown about how to end all the anger and violence in politics — it almost seemed a week too late.”