In Salt Lake City the second debate of the Presidential General Election, and this time it was the two Vice Presidential candidates taking center stage. Separated between plexiglass was Vice President Mike Pence and California Senator Kamala Harris, discussing the important issues that mattered to Americans. Or at least, it was supposed to be that way.

The night was one of contrasting styles as the candidates, while much more civil than their Presidential counterparts were last week, showed a different approach in how they addressed the questions. Senator Harris was quick to bring up the rising death toll numbers from the Coronavirus in the United States, which is currently at 210,000. She discussed how Pence, who is the head of the Coronavirus task force, has yet to curb the numbers. Pence had little defense on the issue, rather diverting to how well they have kept the economy going. Healthcare was also a topic in which Pence was vague on, stating that he and the President had a plan to improve health care and protect pre-existing conditions. According to the Associated Press Fact Checker, People with preexisting conditions are already protected by the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, and if the Trump administration succeeds in persuading the Supreme Court to overturn it, those protections will be jeopardy.

Several of Pence’s claims during the debate left many wanting. One such topic was the issue of fracking, in which Pence and Harris repeatedly stated contradictions towards one another. While Harris has been on record saying that she would ban fracking, she may have to change her stance now that former Vice President and Democratic candidate Joe Biden does not think that there can be a complete ban on fracking. As for Pence, he mentioned how President Trump will “listen to the science on climate change,” when the administration has been anything but willing to do the same.

However, that was not the only issue in which the two candidates showed a differential point of view.

When given the opportunity to discuss the Breonna Taylor tragedy and how the justice system could be changed, Senator Harris offered a heartwarming tale of reaching out to the family, then delving into how the Biden-Harris administration would outlaw the same brutal tactics that resulted in the death of George Floyd back in May. Vice President Pence, not so much, as he gave the typical “We’re saddened that she’s gone BUT…” then went into a diatribe of looting and rioting, which is the standard modus operandi of dog whistling to the base.

While the night was not as combative as the week before, it showed just how divided both parties are, and how tone deaf one has become the past four years. With only 27 days to go until the general election, one has to wonder if the country has already made its decision.

This tweet from Langston Carter says it best: