Black Voters weigh Harris' VP debate debut

African American voters on both sides of the political isle are weighing in on Sen. Kamala Harris debate debut, as she made history as the first Black woman to stand on a vice presidential debate stage.

The Democratic candidate traded barbs through plexiglass shields with Republican Mike Pence.

The meeting, which was far more civil than last week's chaotic face-off between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, unfolded against an outbreak of coronavirus now hitting the highest levels of the U.S. government. Trump spent three days at the hospital before returning to the White House on Monday, and more than a dozen White House and Pentagon officials are also infected, forcing even more into quarantine.

Black Trump supporter Chris Arps thought the debate was more substantive and that Pence was able to adequately defend the current administrations response to the pandemic while also scrutinizing Harris and her running mate.

"Kamala Harris is trying to come across as is for social justice. But Pence touched on that a little bit about her record as a California D.A. she put more African-American men in jail for marijuana possession," Arps said. "She is on record books saying that if we wanted to put more cops on the streets, I raised my hand for that."

Republicans desperately want to cast the race as a choice between two candidates fighting to move the country in vastly different directions. Biden and Harris, they say, would pursue a far-left agenda bordering on socialism; the Democrats say Trump's administration will stoke racial and other divides, torpedo health care for people who aren't wealthy and otherwise undercut national strength.

Arps thinks the Democrats should worry more about holding on to the progressive left flank of the party, instead of bragging about endorsements they're getting from right-wing politicians.

Dorian Tyus, a black voter who is backing former Vice President Joe Biden, disagrees and thinks casting a wider net will attract voters who are on the fence.

"We're in a tough situation right now in this country with COVID-19. We need to unify," Tyus said. "And so as (Harris) talked about getting the support of Republicans, Democrats and independents, it hit my soul because that's where we need to go to get out of some of the tough times that we're in. And I'm so excited to have someone like Joe Biden who has tons of empathy, who knows how to reach across the aisle, that has a heart and compassion for people that are suffering from a lot of different scenarios."

With less than four weeks before Election Day, the debate was one of the final opportunities for Trump and Pence to reset a contest that could be slipping away. They're hoping to move the campaign's focus away from the virus, but the president's infection — and his downplaying of the consequences — are making that challenging.

Trump and Biden are scheduled to debate again on Oct. 15, though the status of that meeting is unclear. The president has said he wants to attend, but Biden says it shouldn't move forward if Trump still has coronavirus.