Vice Presidential Debate Analysis, Stimulus Updates and Wall Street Reactions

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After the first presidential debate widely panned by observers and drawing ridicule from international media and earning the label “shitshow” from CNN’s Dana Bash, more satire floated around after the vice presidential debate last night because of a fly that perched on Vice President Mike Pence’s head and speculation of pink eye that captivated viewers, spawning hundreds of tweets, memes and parody Twitter accounts.

However, Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence took the stage on Wednesday night in a wide-ranging vice presidential debate that touched on legal challenges to abortion rights and the killing of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

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KEY FACTS

“Are you and Joe Biden going to pack the court if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed?” Pence asked Harris directly. 

Harris tried to turn the tables to the issue of whether it was proper for the Republicans to seek to push through Barrett’s nomination now, noting that President Abraham Lincoln had decided against confirming a justice to the Supreme Court in the final month before an election, and arguing the American people “deserve to make the decision” about who will fill the late-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat. 

Vice President Pence repeatedly attacked Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) over fracking on Wednesday at the vice presidential candidates’ debate, wrongly accusing her running mate Joe Biden of supporting an outright ban.

With Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination ceremony at the White House increasingly looking like a superspreader event of coronavirus infections, Vice President Mike Pence defended the gathering Wednesday at the vice presidential candidates’ debate, arguing that it was outdoors and attendees were tested beforehand—but there was a portion of the event held indoors and health experts say testing or being outdoors doesn’t mean attendees should disregard safety guidelines on social distancing and wearing masks.

After Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) stated she’d take a vaccine if the medical community approved of it—not President Trump—Vice President Pence distorted her comments, accusing the California senator of “playing politics with peoples’ lives” and floating anti-vaccine conspiracy theories during the debate Wednesday.   

"If Dr. Fauci, if the doctors tell us we should take it, I'll be the first in line to take it,” Harris said of a vaccine, “But if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I'm not taking it."

Pence responded by accusing the senator of “undermin[ing] public confidence in a vaccine,” calling it “unconscionable.”

Neither candidate elaborated on how they believe their home states of California and Indiana should address abortion rights. Harris immediately pivoted to focus on the precarious future of the Affordable Care Act under a Trump presidency, while Pence pressed Harris on whether Democrats would pack the Supreme Court if Barrett were confirmed.

Senator Kamala Harris referenced her experience taking down predatory for-profit schools while touting Joe Biden’s student loan relief and forgiveness plan.

A grand jury indicted a former Louisville police detective on charges of reckless endangerment in September but failed to charge the other two officers who fired shots towards Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old medical worker who police officers fatally shot during a botched raid in March.

“I trust our justice system and a grand jury that refused the evidence,” Pence said at the debate. He then rebuked the riots and looting that broke out amid largely peaceful protests following George Floyd’s death and chastised Biden and Harris for their presumed view of a “systemically racist” America.

Talk of a blue wave has heightened on Wall Street in recent days, as polls and prediction markets increasingly show former Vice President Joe Biden as the likely winner in the November election, and give Democrats a strong chance of taking control of the Senate while retaining their House majority. A blue wave would make passing legislation–including a highly awaited second stimulus bill–much easier, which could bolster economic growth, but not all industries would necessarily benefit.

Stimulus Updates

Stimulus talks have been resurrected. But not all stimulus measures are equal, says Steve Forbes. "The most positive piece would be suspending the payroll tax. Another round of checks to individuals would also help. But paying people not to work would be harmful, and bailing out high-tax, big-spending states that have recklessly managed their finances would be a travesty."  

In the aftermath of President Trump’s sudden swerves on stimulus—he called for several new bills, including one to send out more stimulus checks, just hours after declaring that aid negotiations were over until after the election—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized the Trump administration for walking away from the table while the economy is in crisis and the coronavirus is not under control.