GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A WMU Cooley Law associate dean says there was no real winner in Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate.
Both Mike Pence and Kamala Harris missed chances where they could have delivered stronger blows, Associate Dean Michael McDaniel told Fox 17.
Pence also had a tendency to be lengthy in his answers, sometimes circling back to the previous question.
In comparison, Harris was effective when she had succinct answers.
“For example, when she said, ‘They’re coming if you’re over the age of 26 and live at home. They’re coming for you if you have a pre-existing condition,” McDaniel said. “She was tying COVID-19 into the photo, the Affordable Care Act, how that is potentially going to be ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court the week after the election.”
Harris, in turn, missed opportunities to call out Pence for not answering moderator Susan Page’s questions, according to McDaniel.
But neither candidate really talked about their plan moving forward for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
McDaniel, who used to be with the Pentagon and with the State of Michigan Homeland Security, says they had a succinct plan for how to roll out vaccines in case of a deadly outbreak for diseases like anthrax and smallpox.
“Both parties presumably are aware of [those plans], and yet nobody sort of gave the reassurance to the American people that there is a way to distribute this vaccine and do so quickly,” McDaniel said.
Related: 5 takeaways ffrom the 2020 vice presidential debate
Related: VP candidates dodge questions, stick to talking points
