Pence's team agrees there can be plexiglass on his side of the debate stage

The vice presidential debate isn't until Wednesday, but there's already been a healthy dose of drama.

Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) will face off at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, with the event organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The commission decided on Monday night that there would be plexiglass onstage to help protect against the spread of coronavirus, but Pence's team opposed this, calling it an unnecessary move since Harris and Pence will be 12 feet apart.

"If she wants it, she's more than welcome to surround herself with plexiglass if that makes her feel more comfortable," Marc Short, Pence's chief of staff, said on Tuesday. "It's not needed." In response, Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman for Harris, said that if "the Trump administration's war on masks has now become a war on safety shields, that tells you everything you need to know about why their COVID response is a failure."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

On Tuesday night, commission co-chair Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. said after Pence's team walked through the debate hall and saw how the stage was set up with plexiglass barricades, they dropped their objection to the extra protection. However, there is still one matter that won't be decided until Wednesday morning.

President Trump and several members of his administration and campaign have contracted the coronavirus within the last week, including senior adviser Stephen Miller. His wife, Katie Miller, is Pence's press secretary, and she is in Salt Lake City now preparing for the debate. She was infected by the virus in May, but the University of Utah has a rule that anyone exposed to COVID-19 must self-quarantine for 14 days. When asked about Miller's situation, Fahrenkopf told The Washington Post that "at this point in time, we have no position. We will find out in the morning."