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Gaye Magazine's Top 5 Takeaways from the 2020 Vice Presidential Debate

We don't know about ya'll but we made sure to watch the Vice-presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence. Check out our top 5 takeaways below.


1. Question: Did Breonna Taylor receive justice?


Photo Illustration: @arielsinhaha

When Mike Pence and Kamala Harris was asked if justice had been served it was a yes or no question. Understandably, both took their full time to explain themselves. Kamala's first words were, "I don't believe so, her family deserves justice..." before talking about how she spoke with the family and what was once Breonna's ambitions. On topic of cops she said, "Bad cops are bad for good cops. We need reform of our policing and our justice system".


When Pence was given the same question his words were, "Well our heart breaks for the loss of any innocent American life and the family of Breonna Taylor has our sympathies, but I trust our justice system." However, he did not mention him or President Trump attempting to reach out to Breonna Taylor’s family.




2. The Fly



How can we do this takeaway without mentioning Twitter's newest celebrity from last night? The Fly. The fly became a trending Twitter topic when it was found to have landed on Mike Pence's head for 2 minutes before flying off. This prompted comments from both sides, suggesting that flies were attracted to "trash" or that even the fly knows a president when it sees one. Joe Biden's team was on it. They sold 35, 000 fly swatters for 10$ each. It is important to note however, that during the fly moment Pence was in the middle of saying that the belief that the justice system was biased towards minorities was "a great insult to the men and women who serve in law enforcement”.



3. Packing the Court


Fotosearch/Getty Images

When asked the question Mike Pence told the moderator he would instead remain on the conversation of the Supreme Court. Though he is not the moderator, Pence asked Kamala a direct question that if elected would she and Joe Biden "pack the court"? Court packing is when more justices are added to the Supreme Court in hopes of a favorable outcome.


The idea was introduced by Roosevelt that a justice should be added for each member over 70. Instead of answering the question, Kamala noted that it was important to follow the example of Abraham Lincoln and let the people choose the president on the election year before a supreme court justice was chosen.



4. Peaceful Transition of Power


Don Landgren cartoon on President Donald Trump and the transition of power.

Moderator Susan Page noted that President Trump has said he would not transfer over power peacefully. She then asked the two debaters what their actions would do if Trump refused to transition power peacefully. Pence answered directly, and indirectly, saying "I think we're going to win this election", insinuating that there was no need then for a peaceful transition of power because they would not be going anywhere. In turn, Kamala, did not answer the question.



5. Coronavirus


Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News, NY

One of the most prominent issues going on with the American people at the moment is how people are handling the coronavirus. Kamala made notable points that The Trump administration did not tell the American people in a timely manner and had gotten rid of the pandemic response team that Obama had put in place. She also made note that she and Joe Biden had a plan in place for the Coronavirus to expand testing, provide PPE and protect the people.


Pence countered that the coronavirus plan of the Biden administration was very similar to what the Trump administration was already doing. He praised the American people for their response to the virus and doubled down that the reason the Coronavirus was not acted on sooner was in order to avoid "panic". Pence also made it very clear that the virus was "China's fault" and that the Trump administration did not get rid of the pandemic team that Obama had set up. (This was proven un-true. The Trump administration did get rid of the pandemic response team in 2018.)

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