I had higher expectations for this debate than last week. After all, Pence is a much more experienced politician than Trump, and Harris is notorious for being one of the most hard-hitting prosecutors of all time. When we consider this debate, though, we need to realize Pence has an actual chance of being our president.

But Pence did not set himself up for that. Instead, he used Trump as his shield. While Kamala used her own accomplishments to build her case, Pence simply used Trump’s last four years and his legacy as a businessman as a response to the deaths he has left in his wake from COVID-19 to race.

The first interesting topic of the night was climate, when we got to hear some true stupidity. Pence continually emphasized the importance of the economy, since his only real response to the Biden climate plan was that it would “cripple the economy,” and he’s already solving the issue. But when we consider how Trump has rolled back hundreds of EPA regulations, he isn’t solving the issue. He’s reversing everything that had the chance of solving anything. So while I’m more of a Green New Deal than a Biden plan gal, I have to say that something will always be better than nothing. When Pence responded with arguments about taxes and fracking, all he’s shown me is that he does not care about climate change.

While climate always takes my heart as the best topic, the best Pence line of the night has to be when he called Biden a “cheerleader for communist China,” something flagrantly untrue and honestly hilarious, since Biden doesn’t even support universal health care. Pence blames China for the deaths that squarely fall on the shoulders of Trump and his administration. Pence himself was the head of the task force and decided to pin the blame of his own actions on the Chinese government and WHO.

Later in the debate, the Supreme Court became a massive issue. I stand on the side of Biden-Harris when I say Trump should not and cannot appoint a judge to SCOTUS because it’s completely unfair. But this became so much more important to me when Pence called himself pro-life and decided to shame Biden and Harris for supporting a person’s right to choose what they do with their own body. Pence looks a woman in the eyes and tells her she doesn’t have the right to choose what happens to her. Sad!

As the topic transitioned to racial justice, Pence decided Breonna Taylor’s life does not matter. When no one is prosecuted, when no one actually faces punishment for murder, that is not justice. He instead blames the people who protest, saying that hurting property is so much worse than killing an innocent woman. Then, Pence said the system is fine — that saying the system has implicit biases is in fact offensive to the system. I don’t care what offends the system. The system is built to destroy people of color, and Pence simply allows it to happen.

At the end of the day, all these debates just suck. Questions are often deflected and truths are often bent. I don’t really know what these debates are for sometimes. From my perspective, they just entrench views instead of informing. But they really do matter because they serve as a reminder. What do these people stand for? And who deserves the vote?

As this debate began, many were reminded of a time that feels so long ago — pre-Trump America. Of a time when political discussions were not ferocious battles between good and evil. While the debate went on, we were painfully reminded of the issues at hand: a deadly pandemic, an economic crisis, a looming climate crisis and too many more.

Although all of these issues were discussed, I could only think of one: how we got to this point, and where we go from here as a nation. Tonight we saw two pictures of America. 

One of those visions, presented by Pence, with an insect atop his cranium, was full of alternative facts and wishful thinking, portraying an America that Donald Trump’s campaign promised to return to but in reality, never existed. To “Make America great again.” To have an America with a booming economy, unity and a strong global presence. Today’s America is a stark contrast to what Trump and his campaign would like to believe it is. We face record-high unemployment, citizens more divided than ever and as Harris brought up, many nations respect Chinese communist dictator Xi Jinping more than our president Donald Trump, according to Pew Research.

Another vision, presented by Kamala Harris, was one that made me have just a bit of optimism for my future. Harris presented an America in which truth rules over lies, unity over division. She echoed the inner thoughts of many virtual audience members, laughing at her opponent and throwing the occasional judgemental stare. This vision of America, although incomplete, fills me with hope. 

This America is one led by someone who listens to science and facts. It disturbs me that we must actively seek these qualities out in a leader. It was once commonplace our leader would present our nation with truth, respect their constituents and listen to science.

Today, the status quo is far from what used to be. Today every rational American must take what the government tells them with a grain of salt. They must question everything they are told. 

If today’s debate taught me anything, it’s this: Our country may not survive another Trump term. The man who may replace him in the event of his untimely demise denies facts, denies women the control of their own bodies and refuses to believe science. That leadership is not the one we want to reconstruct our post-COVID-19 economy or to lead us to a safe vaccine. That leadership is one that no longer has a place on this earth.

Right off the bat, it was clear that this debate would be far more traditional than last week’s presidential debate, as per expectations. Both Pence and Harris have held public office for years. And, like what you’d expect from a traditional debate, there was no clear winner on almost every key issue. 

The coronavirus issue left no clear winner — Harris was able to call out Pence on the current administration’s inadequate response to the virus, while Pence drew attention to Biden’s opposition of a travel ban from China. Both their responses left a sour taste in my mouth — I was expecting actual policy, not just pointing fingers.

On the topic of Trump’s health, Pence claimed that he is grateful for the outpouring of support from both sides of the political aisle after Trump’s diagnosis. I was quite pleasantly surprised by this rare moment of civility and bipartisanship. 

The topic of the economy and taxation, I was less pleased with. Pence repeatedly claimed Biden will ban fracking and increase taxes for all, which is completely false. Harris claimed that the facts show the Trump economy was only good because of the Obama economy, proceeded to cite no facts and ignored that Trump made drastic changes to economic policy within his first year in office. An interesting spat to watch, sure, but the utter lack of facts was disappointing. 

Harris was the clear winner on climate change, calling out the Trump administration’s inadequate climate regulation and response. Pence, for his part, was able to defend the current administration’s missteps remarkably well, considering how awfully they’ve treated the environment. 

When the conversation shifted to the Supreme Court, both sides spouted their usual rhetoric in an extremely uninteresting conversation. Pence did score points when Harris refused to admit that she would not pack the court if Biden was elected. 

Pence did little more than pay lip service to Breonna Taylor, choosing to shift the topic toward violent protests instead. Harris, for her part, refused to acknowledge both her controversial past as a prosecutor and violence in recent protests. 

This debate is almost evidence as to why the last debate was the way it was. It was astonishingly uninteresting, and at times I struggled to not tab-out while watching it for coverage. Harris scored points over Trump’s attack on those with pre-existing conditions, while Pence did a remarkable job of defending his party’s seeming missteps in an adequate way and calling Harris out on court-packing, but overall there was no clear winner.