Vox Sentences - What to expect at the VP debate

The vice presidential debate is on; this was the warmest September in recorded history.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Benjamin Rosenberg.

• For the first and only time in the 2020 campaign, Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris will take the debate stage Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, Utah. The debate will run from 9 to 10:30 pm ET and will be broadcast on all major networks and cable news channels. [Vox / Nicole Narea]
• USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page will moderate the debate. Page has not released a list of topics, but the candidates will have to speed through each of them — Page will address nine topics, leaving just 10 minutes for each one. [Newsweek / Seren Morris]
• The Covid-19 pandemic is sure to be a focus, as President Donald Trump put Pence in charge of the White House coronavirus task force in February. The president spent three days in the hospital last week and is still being treated for Covid-19. [Vox / Alex Ward]
• Trump is one of several top government officials who have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past week. At 74 and 77, respectively, he and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are the two oldest presidential candidates in US history, giving the vice presidential race extra significance. [Vox / Benjamin Rosenberg, Tim Ryan Williams, and Sean Collins]
• After last week’s first presidential debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates adopted a few rule changes for the remaining debates. Each candidate, but particularly Trump, interrupted the other frequently, so the moderator will now be able to cut off a candidate’s microphone if needed. [CBS News / Melissa Quinn and Norah O’Donnell]
• Several health experts have called for the debate to be moved to a virtual event after the White House coronavirus cluster emerged. The debate will be held in person, although the candidates’ podiums will be stationed 12.25 feet apart as opposed to the originally planned seven feet. [AP / Steve Peoples, Kathleen Ronayne, and Jill Colvin]
• The candidates will also have a plexiglass barrier between them, which Harris’s campaign supported and Pence’s opposed. As Pence spokesperson Katie Miller said, “If Sen. Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it.” [Politico / Alex Isenstadt and Christopher Cadelago]
• Rochelle Walensky, an infectious disease expert at Harvard University, is one of many adamantly opposed to an in-person debate because Pence has been exposed to Trump and other individuals who have tested positive for the virus. [NYT / Apoorva Mandavilli and Donald G. McNeil Jr.]
• Neither candidate has called for a remote debate, however. The two remaining presidential debates are also still on, although Biden said Tuesday that the next debate, scheduled for October 15 in Miami, Florida, should be canceled if Trump still has Covid-19. [Los Angeles Times / Michael Finnegan]