Mike Pence and Kamala Harris trade blows over Covid in debate

Vice President Mike Pence listens as Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during the vice presidential debate (Justin Sullivan/Pool/AP)

Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Kamala Harris began their vice presidential debate by sparring over the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus, a point that highlighted the parties’ sharply conflicting visions for a nation in crisis.

In the only vice presidential debate before next month’s election, the two candidates traded blows from behind plexiglass barriers in a university auditorium in Utah, after a stipulation that any guest who refused to wear a face mask would be removed.