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How to watch the first vice presidential debate

How to watch the first vice presidential debate

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Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence will take the stage tonight in person

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On Wednesday, October 7th, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Vice President Mike Pence will take the stage for the first and only vice presidential debate of the 2020 campaign. Held at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, the event is the second in a series of four debates arranged by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and the first since President Donald Trump’s alarming coronavirus diagnosis last week.

Pence has repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19, even as a growing number of White House staffers close to the president have contracted the disease. Senior adviser Stephen Miller announced he had tested positive on Tuesday night, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tested positive after his service as Trump’s debate coach for the previous event.

How do I watch tonight’s vice presidential debate?

The debate will be carried by all major broadcast networks and will also be widely available on YouTube. NBC, ABC, Fox News, and C-Span are all carrying streams, with some of them beginning commentary in advance of the official start time. C-Span’s stream is embedded at the top of this post, and will go live as soon as the event starts.

What time does tonight’s vice presidential debate start?

The debate is scheduled to begin at 9PM ET and will run for approximately 90 minutes.

Who is moderating the debate?

The debate will be moderated by Susan Page of USA Today. Unlike Chris Wallace, who moderated the previous presidential debate, Page has not announced any planned topics for the debate, although they are likely to touch on the president’s recent infection.

What precautions will the candidates take to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus?

Various aspects of the debate format have changed in the past week in light of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak among members of the president’s team. The candidates will now stand 12 feet apart rather than the initially planned seven and will be separated by clear plexiglass barriers, a measure the Pence camp initially objected to.

“If Sen. Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it,” Katie Miller, a Pence spokeswoman, told Politico.