Vice presidential debate, often an afterthought, takes on outsized importance

“I think this is an incredibly important vice presidential debate, maybe the most important ever,” emphasized longtime political scientist Wayne Lesperance, vice president of academic affairs at New England College.

With the president undergoing treatments for the coronavirus, there’s no guarantee that either the second or third presidential debates between Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden – scheduled for Oct. 15 and 22 – will take place, potentially making the vice presidential showdown the last one before Election Day on Nov. 3.

The debate is set to take place Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. There was already heightened interest in the faceoff due to the ages of the two standard bearers. The president’s 74 and Biden’s 77. There’s plenty of speculation that Biden wouldn’t run for a second term in the White House if he wins the presidential election.

Now, with Trump battling a disease that has taken the lives of more than 200,000 Americans, the spotlight will be on the 61-year-old vice president and the 55-year-old senator from California to show voters they’re more than prepared to take over should something happen to the president.