VP debate to install plexiglass between Pence and Harris

Plexiglass will be installed between Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on the vice presidential debate stage in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, according to a source close to the Biden campaign. 

The development, which was first reported by Politico on Monday, comes as a growing number of individuals in President Trump’s orbit have tested positive for the coronavirus, including the president himself, first lady Melania Trump, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and two assistant press secretaries. 

Pence has tested negative for the virus, but the growing number of cases out of the Trump administration raised concerns about the upcoming debate, especially because the president and first lady tested positive two days after attending the presidential debate last week. 

Following the president’s diagnosis, the Commission on Presidential debates decided to space Harris and Pence 13 feet apart instead of seven feet apart. 

The plexiglass proposal was reportedly supported by Harris’s team but not Pence’s.

“If Sen. Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it,” Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller said in a statement to Politico. 

Former Vice President Biden suggested he would be open to using plexiglass in the upcoming presidential debate on Oct. 15. 

“I’m not an expert on it, but I think we should be very cautious,” he said when asked whether plexiglass should be used at the forum.

South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison notably brought plexiglass to his debate against Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) over the weekend.