An eighth grader won the 2020 vice presidential election

Vice President Pence and Senator Kamala Harris during the 2020 Vice Presidential debate on Oct. 7. Erin Sundberg/Lariat

Neither Republicans nor Democrats won the Vice Presidential debate. A kid blew the two candidates out of the water, questioning the ongoing polarization of the two parties.

On Oct. 7 the debate took place at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City between current Vice President Mike Pence and Joe Biden’s pick for Vice President, Kamala Harris. The questions were standard until the very last one. Kids as young as kindergarten to undergraduates in college from Utah sent in their essays to be featured during the debate and one eighth grader’s question was chosen.

From Springville, Utah, a girl named Brecklynn Brown made the candidates look like fools on stage at the 2020 vice presidential debate with one simple innocent question.

“When I watch the news, all I see is arguing between Democrats and Republicans,” Brown said. “When I watch the news, all I see is citizen fighting against citizen. When I watch the news, all I see are two candidates from opposing parties trying to tear each other down. If our leaders can’t get along, how are the citizens supposed to get along.”

What kind of kid watches the news in 8th grade? This kid has got the right idea because if the shepherds are focused on fighting each other instead of unifying the sheep, what do they think the sheep will do? Prideful tactics trying to distinguish between who is right and who is wrong is obviously not working for the American people.

The responses from the candidates are too embarrassing to report. Brown asked why can’t we all get along, not who would be better for president.

“Love a good debate, we love a good argument, but we always come together and are always there for one another in times of need,” Pence said. “Let me commend you for taking an interest in public life.”

The two contenders spent the night trying to debunk other statements instead. Empowering the children to think freely isn’t happening because they choose to continue to spend more time trashing each other rather than answering simple questions.

“What propelled Joe to run for president was to see that over the course of the last 4 years that what Brecklynn described has been happening,” Harris said. “Joe Biden has a history of lifting people up and fighting for their dignity.”

Brown didn’t ask why Biden decided to run for president. She didn’t ask what Pence thought about her question. She asked why the two parties are always at each other’s throats.

The Presidential debate set the bar really low. Expecting anything better is delusional. Constructive debates have gone right out of the window and the American people deserve better.

“Admittedly, the bar for a good debate was low in the wake of the first presidential encounter between President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden, which was marred by constant interruptions, insults and no coherent explanation of policy positions,” the Deseret News Editorial Board said in an article on Oct. 7. “Wednesday night’s debate was civil, but sadly lacked direct responses from the candidates to specific questions.”

The American people are doomed from the start of this election as they are practically trying to choose between two monkeys in a circus. It’s impossible to decide which candidate is better when they’re constantly dancing around the questions being asked.

For an eighth grader to be more focused on unity than our current administration and their opponents is beyond frustrating. Children are innocent and the American people have a responsibility to make the United States a better place for them.

By Erin Sundberg/Lariat Editor-At-Large in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

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