Your Take: The vice presidential debate
ATLANTA - More substance and a lot less hostility are the takeaways for a group of Georgia voters who watch the vice-presidential debate Wednesday. While the five Georgia voters FOX 5 spoke to said they were far more pleased with the tone of the debate compared the former President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden’s first debate, they differ on which candidate came out on top.
Ashley and Jake, the Republicans on the FOX 5 Your Take panel, told Fox 5's Portia Bruner Vice President Mike Pence won the debate by drawing clear lines between the GOP and the Democrats who want to unseat Pence and President Trump.
"The reality is that Senator [Kamala] Harris is not in line or in tune with most Americans. She's far more radical and Vice President Pence did a good job painting that picture," said Jake, a Republican from Cobb County.
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"Kamala Harris cosponsored the Green New Deal and on their website, Biden claims he's not supporting it all. And they change their mind on major policy decisions that would affect the American people greatly and it just proves you can't trust a thing that they're saying," said Ashley, a Republican from Sandy Springs.
The Democrats, Marty and Ecleynne, said Senator Harris won by driving home the impact of COVID-19 in the U.S. under the leadership of President Trump, who announced on October 1 that he tested positive for the respiratory virus.
"When you can't protect yourself, how are you going to protect me? I'm out here with the masks doing social distancing and you disregarded all of that, so how am I going to trust him?" said Ecleynne Stone Mountain Democrat.
"I'm sorry, if I have to choose between the economy and my loved one, I'm choosing my loved one. More than 210,000 people dying is not acceptable to save the economy. And the president is saying, 'It is what it is?'" said Marty, a Decatur Democrat.
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Carmen is the only Your Take panelist who has voted for both Democrats and Republicans over the years. She's not comfortable saying who she will vote for in November, but thinks COVID-19 and the pro-life versus pro-choice debate will be the issues that keep undecided voters struggling with the choice between Biden and Trump.
"Boiling it down to the nitty gritty of the vote, people who are pro-choice and pro-life are going to argue against the numbers of death that supersede the amount of deaths that happen from COVID. It's going to come down to the definition of right. What is wrong and where my “right” begins and your version of “right” ends,” said Carmen, a Hall County voter.
Despite President Trump’s announcement that he will not participate in a virtual debate with Joe Biden, all five Georgia voters insist it is important Americans hear from both Americans in the final two debates before Election Day.
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