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

Highlights from the first and only matchup between Biden, Trump's running mates

ByLibby Cathey, Matt Zarrell, Adia Robinson, Michelle Stoddart, and Lauren King
Last Updated: October 15, 2020, 9:27 AM EDT

With plexiglass and more than 12 feet of distance separating them, Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic nominee Sen. Kamala Harris of California debated in Salt Lake City in the first and only one-on-one matchup between the vice presidential candidates.

The showdown came as President Donald Trump and several in his orbit have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, raising questions on a transfer of power to the vice president were Trump at 74 -- or Democratic nominee Joe Biden at 77 -- to become too ill to serve.

The debate's format was divided into nine 10-minute sections with each candidate having two minutes to respond to the opening question in each segment and the remaining time allowed for follow ups. Moderator Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief of USA Today, did not release the topics in advance.

The sole vice presidential debate follows Trump and Biden's chaotic debate last week in Cleveland.

Latest headlines:

Here is how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Oct 07, 2020, 11:23 PM EDT

Final candidate speaking times 

ABC News calculated of the candidate's approximate speaking times during more than 90 minutes on the debate stage, :

Pence: 35:22
Harris: 38:48

ABC News also calculated the approximate speaking times spent on each topic including moderator speaking time:

COVID-19:-11:58
Role of the vice president: 9:27
Economy: 9:20
Climate change: 9:23
Foreign policy: 12:34
Supreme Court: 10:02
Race: 10:35
State of the election: 6:52

PHOTO: Vice President Mike Pence, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris and moderator Susan Page all speak at the same time during the vice presidential debate, Oct. 7, 2020, at University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Vice President Mike Pence, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris and moderator Susan Page all speak at the same time during the vice presidential debate, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Justin Sullivan/AP

--ABC News' Kelsey Walsh

Oct 07, 2020, 11:20 PM EDT

Trump tweets Pence ‘WON BIG!’

Shortly after the debate wrapped, Trump -- known to enjoy his time in front of the television -- signaled his approval of Pence's performance and declared him the winner in a tweet.

The Trump campaign also released a statement in which Pence's chief of staff Marc Short said the vice president made the argument to the American people that Trump is "the clear choice to rebuild the economy."

--ABC News' Terrance Smith

Oct 07, 2020, 11:18 PM EDT

Pence’s pink eye and an errant fly grab social media attention

Social media users clamored to point out that Pence's eye looked red and enflamed, which led to speculation about his health after being exposed to COVID-19 from the president. 

Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the 2020 vice presidential debate with Democratic vice presidential nominee and Senator Kamala Harris, on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Oct. 7, 2020.
Morry Gash/Reuters

ABC News' Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton weighed in, saying that pink eye has been reported in anywhere from 11% to 30% of COVID-19 cases. But as always, Ashton said that it is not possible to diagnose anyone from television and that it was a possibility that it could just be that he just had "some makeup in his eye."

Vice President Mike Pence listens to Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris during the vice presidential debate, Oct. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City.
Patrick Semansky/AP

An errant fly that landed on Pence's head during the debate also grabbed the attention of social media users. The Biden campaign immediately seized on the moment, using it as an opportunity to fundraise, posting a tweet asking for donations to "help this campaign fly," along with a photo of Biden holding a fly swatter.

Oct 07, 2020, 11:10 PM EDT

FACT CHECK: Pence claims that Biden and Harris want to ban fracking -- but it's complicated

PENCE'S CLAIM: "They want to abolish fossil fuels and ban fracking, which would cost hundreds of thousands of American jobs all across the heartland."

HARRIS' RESPONSE: "I will repeat, and the American people know, that Joe Biden will not ban fracking."

FACT CHECK: While Harris did support banning fracking as a presidential candidate, she has since fallen in line with Biden, who does not want to ban fracking. 

Biden has said that he doesn't want to add new fracking on public lands. He wants to move away from fracking to eventually get net-zero emissions. He has also argued that a transition to clear energy is necessary to keep people employed.

Biden's environmental plan calls for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and for a massive investment in clean energy, including training fossil fuel workers for clean energy jobs.

During an address in August, Biden said, "I am not banning fracking. Let me say that again. I am not banning fracking, no matter how many times Donald Trump lies about me."

In July 2019, Biden was asked during a CNN debate if there would be a place for fossil fuels, like coal and fracking, in a Biden administration. "We would make sure it's eliminated," he answered. After his comment, Biden's campaign clarified that he was referring to fracking on public lands.

--ABC News' Averi Harper