The vice presidential debate was a serious one on Tuesday night as Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence met in Farmville, Va., to argue about the direction of the country and which of their running mates might be better for America.
The pair spent only a few moments introducing themselves before delving into issues of job creation, the plight of residents caught in the war in Aleppo, Syria, law enforcement and race relations in the US, and the country’s immigration policy.
The 90-minute debate was moderated by CBS News anchor Elaine Quijano, and comes between the first and second presidential debates. Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump meet on Sunday for their next debate.
Read More: 12 Must-Read Quotes from Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's First Debate
Check out what the candidates had to say about the important issues facing the US today:
On Creating Jobs in America
Mike Pence: “Donald Trump and I have a plan to get this economy moving again just the way that it worked in the 1980s, just the way it worked in the 1960s, and that is by lowering taxes across the board for working families, small businesses and family farms, ending the war on coal that is hurting jobs and hurting this economy even here in Virginia, repealing Obamacare lock, stock, and barrel, and repealing all of the executive orders that Barack Obama has signed that are stifling economic growth in this economy.”
Tim Kaine: “On the economy, there's a fundamental choice for the American electorate. Do you want a "you're hired" president in Hillary Clinton or do you want a "you're fired" president in Donald Trump?” Kaine then promised to “invest in manufacturing, infrastructure, and research in the clean energy jobs of tomorrow,” “invest in our workforce,” raise “the minimum wage, so you can't work full-time and be under the poverty level,” “promote small business growth,” and “have a tax plan that targets tax relief to middle-class individuals and small businesses and asks those at the very top who've benefited as we've come out of recession to pay more.”
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On Race and Policing in America:
Tim Kaine: “Here's what I learned as a mayor and a governor. The way you make communities safer and the way you make police safer is through community policing. You build the bonds between the community and the police force, build bonds of understanding, and then when people feel comfortable in their communities, that gap between the police and the communities they serve narrows ... Hillary Clinton has rolled out a really comprehensive mental health reform package that she worked on with law enforcement professionals, and we will also fight the scourge of gun violence in the United States.”
Mike Pence: “Police officers are the best of us. And the men and women, white, African-American, Asian, Latino, Hispanic, they put their lives on the line every single day. And let me say, at the risk of agreeing with you, community policing is a great idea. It's worked in the Hoosier state. And we fully support that … But they also — they also hear the bad mouthing, the bad mouthing that comes from people that seize upon tragedy in the wake of police action shootings as — as a reason to — to use a broad brush to accuse law enforcement of — of implicit bias or institutional racism. And that really has got to stop.”
On Immigration
Mike Pence: “Donald Trump's laid out a plan to end illegal immigration once and for all in this country. We've been talking it to death for 20 years. Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine want to continue the policies of open borders, amnesty, catch and release, sanctuary cities, all the things that are driving — that are driving wages down in this country, Senator, and also too often with criminal aliens in the country, it's bringing heartbreak. But I — Donald Trump has a plan that he laid out in Arizona, that will deal systemically with illegal immigration, beginning with border security, internal enforcement.”
Tim Kaine: “Hillary and I believe in comprehensive immigration reform. Donald Trump believes in deportation nation. You've got to pick your choice. Hillary and I want a bipartisan reform that will put keeping families together as the top goal, second, that will help focus enforcement efforts on those who are violent, third, that will do more border control, and, fourth, that will provide a path to citizenship for those who work hard, pay taxes, play by the rules, and take criminal background record checks.”
On Fighting ISIS and Terrorism
Tim Kaine: “[Clinton] was part of the national security team that wiped out bin Laden. Here's her plan to defeat ISIL. First, we've got to keep taking out their leaders on the battlefield.”...”Second, we've got to disrupt financing networks, third, disrupt their ability to recruit on the Internet, in their safe havens. But, fourth, we also have to work with allies to share and surge intelligence.”
Mike Pence: “The truth is, Osama bin Laden led Al Qaida. Our primary threat today is ISIS. And because Hillary Clinton failed to renegotiate a status of forces agreement that would have allowed some American combat troops to remain in Iraq and secure the hard fought gains the American soldier had won by 2009, ISIS was able to be literally conjured up out of the desert, and it's overrun vast areas that the American soldiers had won in Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
On Refugees
Mike Pence: “Donald Trump and I are committed to suspending the Syrian refugee program and programs and immigration from areas of the world that have been compromised by terrorism. Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine want to increase the Syrian refugee program.”
Tim Kaine: “We have different views on — on refugee issues and on immigration. Hillary and I want to do enforcement based on, are people dangerous?...And with respect to refugees, we want to keep people out if they're dangerous.”
On Syria
Mike Pence: “The United States of America needs to begin to exercise strong leadership to protect the vulnerable citizens and over 100,000 children in Aleppo. I truly do believe that what America ought to do right now is immediately establish safe zones, so that families and vulnerable families with children can move out of those areas, work with our Arab partners, real time, right now, to make that happen.”
Tim Kaine: “Hillary and I also agree that the establishment of humanitarian zones in northern Syria with the provision of international human aid, consistent with the U.N. Security Council resolution that was passed in February 2014, would be a very, very good idea.”