Mike Pence Doesn’t Want Plexiglass Barriers at Vice-Presidential Debate

Ground rules for debates are often the subject of delicate negotiations between the campaigns and the debate commission, and it is not unusual for issues to flare up in the hours before the event.

Mr. Pence’s dismissal of a safety measure, however, is notable in light of the myriad health concerns around staging an indoor event when the president and a significant number of his senior advisers have contracted the virus, along with several senators and a top military leader.

One aide to Mr. Pence expressed disdain about the use of the barriers, suggesting they could be used to make a candidate look weak. “If Senator Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it,” the aide, Katie Miller, said.

A spokeswoman for the debate commission declined to comment.

A virtual event is also under consideration for Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden’s next scheduled debate on Oct. 15, though those discussions remain in a preliminary phase, according to two people with knowledge of the commission’s deliberations.

Much remains unknown about that debate, including if Mr. Trump will be well enough to attend and if Mr. Biden’s team would be comfortable with the former vice president’s sharing an indoor stage with a president who has been contagious.

Mr. Trump’s aides insist that he plans to be there. Some of those close to the president have discussed the possibility of holding the two remaining debates outdoors, noting that Mr. Biden has participated in outside forums.

For Wednesday’s vice-presidential matchup, the onstage gap between Ms. Harris and Mr. Pence will be 12 feet 3 inches — five inches shorter than the distance that separated Mr. Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr. last week in Cleveland. The moderator, Susan Page of USA Today, will sit the same distance away from the candidates.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/business/media/pence-harris-plexiglass-debate.html