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

PENCE’S CLAIM: “Sen. Harris is denying the fact that they're going to raise taxes on every American.”

FACT CHECK: Biden has insisted that his administration would only seek to raise taxes on companies and individuals making more than $400,000 a year. Tax experts largely agree that under his plan a broad swath of American households could also see a very small increase in their taxes.
 This is due to a number of factors, such as Biden’s proposed corporate tax hike. Many models assume at least part of that burden would be borne by lower-wage workers. But according to an analysis by the independent nonprofit Tax Policy Foundation, 93% of the increases would be shouldered by the top quintile of taxpayers. 

 According to that analysis, that would mean the middle-income quintile (those with income between about $52,000 and $93,000) would experience an average tax increase of $260 per year. Taxpayers in the bottom quintile (those with income less than $26,000) would see an average tax increase of only $30.

Biden has also said he would reinstate the individual mandate -- the penalty for not having health insurance created by the Affordable Care Act -- that was eliminated by the 2017 tax cuts.

However, Biden says he also aims to reduce some taxes. He said he would repeal the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction instituted by the 2017 bill, which primarily impacts high-income households in areas with high state taxes, like California and New York.

He also plans to offer tax credits aimed at accomplishing different policy goals -- such as reinstating or expanding incentives intended to reduce carbon emissions and helping low- and middle-income families offset the costs of home buying.

--ABC News' Shannon Crawford and Beatrice Peterson

ABC News Chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl said both candidates showed their differences from Trump on the stage in terms of their demeanor, noting Pence started off by commending Harris for making history on the ticket. 

But Karl also said there were missed opportunities to press the candidates for follow-up questions when, at times, they skirted around giving direct answers.

"It was also somewhat maddening at times to see both of them avoid answering basic questions and not really seeing enough of a follow up, but especially Mike Pence," Karl said. "Mike Pence has an amazing ability not to answer a direct question, and you really have to press, and there was no real opportunity to do it here."

Harris dodged a question from Pence earlier on packing the Supreme Court, while Pence would not answer whether he believes in man-made climate change, among other questions.

PENCE'S CLAIM: "President Trump and I have a plan to improve health care and protect -- to protect preexisting conditions for every American."

FACT CHECK: Trump has promised throughout his first term in office to lay out a comprehensive health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.

But despite repeatedly claiming one would be coming in a few "weeks," the Trump administration has failed to produce one -- with less than a month to go until Election Day.

Trump is also currently suing to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees coverage for preexisting conditions, and has still not proposed an alternative.

In June 2019, Trump told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos that he would be releasing a "phenomenal" new health care plan within the next two months.

"If we win back the House, we're going to produce phenomenal health care. And we already have the concept of the plan, but it'll be less expensive than Obamacare by a lot," Trump said then.

Over a year later, the president still hasn't released a plan.

Trump also told Fox News' Chris Wallace over the summer that he would be releasing a health care plan in a matter of "weeks" -- but never did.

Meanwhile, as Trump and Republicans have repeatedly insisted on protecting preexisting conditions, the Trump administration is currently in court seeking to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees coverage for Americans with preexisting medical conditions. 

Trump did lay out health care goals at a campaign event in late September. But it was light on details and even Trump's own campaign called it his "vision" for health care, not a concrete plan.

--ABC News' Will Steakin

PENCE'S CLAIM: "(Trump) suspended all travel from China, the second-largest economy in the world. Now, senator, Joe Biden opposed that decision. He said it was xenophobic and hysterical."

FACT CHECK: While Pence has claimed that Biden opposed his decision to ban most travel from China at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic and that he called the restrictions "xenophobic," the former vice president did not explicitly weigh in on the decision when it was announced on Jan. 31. He did, however, call the president xenophobic minutes after the partial travel ban was announced.

During a campaign event that same day in Fort Madison, Iowa, Biden discussed the growing concern over the COVID-19 outbreak and cautioned that Trump should let science "lead the way."

"In moments like this, this is where the credibility of a president is most needed as he explains what we should and should not do," Biden told the crowd at the event. "This is no time for Donald Trump's record of hysterical xenophobia ... and fear mongering to lead the way instead of science."

The comments came just minutes after the White House announcement, so it was unclear if Biden was referring to the decision specifically, but the former vice president did tweet a similar sentiment the next day.

"We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus," Biden posted. "We need to lead the way with science -- not Donald Trump's record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency."

Throughout March, Biden used the word "xenophobic" in various speeches and tweets to criticize the president's labeling COVID-19 the "China virus.

Biden did acknowledge in a March speech the travel restrictions put in place by the Trump administration, noting they "may" slow the spread. 

"Banning all travel from Europe or any other part of the world may slow it, but as we've seen, it will not stop it. And travel restrictions based on favoritism and politics rather than risk will be counterproductive," Biden said. 

Biden's campaign did not explicitly discuss the vice president's view of the ban until April.

"Joe Biden supports travel bans that are guided by medical experts, advocated by public health officials and backed by a full strategy," Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield told CNN. "Science supported this ban, therefore he did too."

ABC News' Molly Nagle