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VP Debate 2020: Trump calls Kamala Harris a 'gaffe machine', Internet says she is 'demolishing Mike Pence'

Within minutes of Trump's tweet, several social media users responded to the president, appreciating Harris' performance and questioning whether he was watching the same debate

President Donald Trump, on Wednesday, October 7, took to Twitter to take aim at Senator Kamala Harris during the first vice presidential debate, calling her a "gaffe machine". The Republican, meanwhile, appraised his Vice President Mike Pence's performance, saying he was doing "great".

"Mike Pence is doing GREAT! She is a gaffe machine," Trump tweeted. The president is currently infected with Covid-19 and has received criticism over his carelessness to maintain precautions.

Within minutes of Trump's tweet, several social media users responded to the president, appreciating Harris' performance and questioning whether he was watching the same debate they were. One user wrote: "Are you watching the same debate? Kamala Harris is demolishing Mike Pence! Pence can’t even answer the questions that are being asked of him."

Another wrote: "He [Pence] looks like he’s about to drop dead because she’s speaking facts and addressing the topic at hand while he's avoiding the question and telling cover-up stories." A user added: "Pretty sure that given Pence's behavior speaking over women tonight that they have entirely given up on the suburban women demographic. (Also rural women, exurban women and urban women)"

The Vice Presidential candidates of 2020, Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, faced off on October 7 at 9 pm ET for the first and only general election vice presidential debate of the year in Salt Lake City, Utah. The discourse was moderated by USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page and the two candidates were separated by plexiglass barriers and given a distance of 12 feet. 

Harris, during the debate, rapped Pence repeatedly, saying: "Mr Vice President, please let me speak" after getting interrupted. The swipe was reminiscent of the nature of the first 2020 presidential debate where President Donald Trump incessantly interrupted Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

The Senator, over the topic of vaccination, said that she would be the first in line to take a vaccine if medical experts recommend to take it. Harris also slammed Pence, saying "You respect the American people when you tell them the truth" attacking the Trump administration over the spread of misinformation amid the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Pence continued to defend Trump's statement during the course of the debate and backed him as a "businessman" who would revive the country's economy by being a "job creator".

The debate began with the topic of the coronavirus crisis in the country, with Harris initiating the discourse by slamming the Trump administration's handling of the crisis as "one of the biggest failures in the history of the country." Pence, on the other hand, called former Vice President Joe Biden's coronavirus plan "plagiarism".  "Something Biden knows about," he added, suggesting he had borrowed it from the Trump adminstration's plan to combat the virus.

All attendees of the debate had their temperatures checked before entering the premises as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus pandemic. Each attendee was also asked to get a negative result on their Covid-19 tests 72 hours before the event begins. The building also features hand sanitization stations as you enter.