There are questions today over what Kamala Harris’ placement on the Democratic presidential ticket means for the current vice president Mike Pence. There was speculation as to whether Pence would agree to a debate with the California senator, but he seemed to confirm he would see her on stage. During an appearance in Mesa, Arizona Tuesday night he told a crowd, “You all might like to know that the vice presidential debate is on Oct. 7 in Utah! So my message to the Democratic nominee for vice president: Congratulations. I’ll see you in Salt Lake City!”
The match-up will garner a lot of interest.
The New York Times Frank Bruni writes in one corner you’ll have “Mike Pence, white of hair as well as cheek, his demeanor more starched than his dress shirt, his smile so tight it’s the twin of a grimace” and in the other “Harris — younger, blacker and more buoyant. She’s only the fourth woman on the presidential ticket of one of the country’s two major political parties and she’s the first woman of color. She represents an America that’s evolving, fitfully, toward equal opportunity and equal justice.“
Under her gaze, Pence has to defend a racist, sexist president. As he watches helplessly, Harris gets to talk about how that racism and sexism feel to a Black woman like her. This isn’t any ordinary clash of perspectives and philosophies. It’s an extraordinary collision of life experiences.
MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace adds that she has heard the Trump team is worried about this match-up, she remarked: “They thought she would more than go toe-to-toe with Pence, they thought she could chew him up and spit him out and pointed to her cross-examination of one Bill Barr.”
But could something happen before October 7th though to jeopardize this debate? Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) brought up a scenario that would be unprecedented, Trump replacing Pence. Clyburn said, “If I were Pence, I would be on needles now because knowing this man as I do, Donald Trump, I would not be a bit surprised to see him jettison Pence to try and one-up Joe Biden... Trump has a certain fear of Miss Harris, I really think that Kamala is all that he wishes he didn’t have to confront and I really believe he’s always seeking a way to make a headline.”
