The Countdown recaps the showdown between Mike Pence, Kamala Harris

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Tuesday, October 13, 2020
The Countdown: Analysis of vice presidential debate
Bill Ritter is joined by the political experts to analyze and discuss key takeaways and big moments of the vice presidential debate.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- This week on The Countdown, Bill Ritter is joined by ABC News political director Rick Klein and political consultant Hank Sheinkopf to discuss the vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris.

Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday faced considerable pressure to boost coronavirus-stricken President Donald Trump's reelection hopes as he trails in national and battleground state polls.

RELATED | Post-debate poll: Who won the debate, Mike Pence or Kamala Harris?

California Sen. Kamala Harris stepped on stage having to balance her role as Joe Biden's validator with her own historic presence as the first Black woman on a major party national ticket.

The candidates were separated by plexiglass out of concern for spread of the coronavirus from cases emanating from the White House.

RELATED | Fact Check: Debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence

While the night did contain some interruptions and violations of the debate clock, Pence and Harris had more of an actual debate than President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden had during their first face-to-face meeting.

Pence and Harris discussed topics from the COVID-19 pandemic to racial politics to the Supreme Court.

The next debate was scheduled for Oct. 15, but after President Trump said he was backing out of the next presidential debate for going "virtual," both candidates announced that they will host separate events the day it was scheduled.

Democratic rival Biden will attend a town hall with ABC News on Thursday, Oct. 15 from Philadelphia, which will be moderated by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos.

Meanwhile, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh announced that Trump will join his program to host "the largest virtual rally in radio history" Friday. The president later confirmed this in a tweet.

RELATED | 2020 debate schedule

Watch key moments from the debate:

Democrat Kamala Harris says she doesn't believe justice has been done in the case of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in a police drug raid that went bad.
This is what Vice President Mike Pence said when asked about the administration's safety guidelines to protect themselves from COVID-19 after a rose garden event for Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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