Dear Friends-

Tonight, I am looking forward to seeing our Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, Senator Kamala Harris, hold Mike Pence accountable for failing to do his job. Earlier this year, Trump charged Pence with leading the White House Coronavirus Task Force. This debate will be about the Trump administration’s failures over the last four years. As chair of the White House Coronavirus Task Force ([link removed]) , Pence owns the administration’s failed coronavirus response more than anyone but Trump.

As President Trump put it when he announced Pence’s role, “I’m having everybody report to Mike … Mike will report to me.” Since then, 210,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, more than 7 million have been infected, more than 400,000 small businesses have closed, and millions of Americans have lost their jobs.

From the start of the pandemic, Pence and the Trump administration left states and health care workers without necessary protective equipment, failed to implement a national testing or contact tracing strategy, refused to follow the most basic health guidelines, and lied to the American public about the threat of the virus. Now, cases are surging across the country again, hospitalizations are rising, there is an outbreak in their own White House — and Pence and the administration still do not have a plan to protect their own workplace, much less the country.

Tonight, Sen. Harris will remind us of how we need to take this country in a different direction.

Yours in the Fight,

Mũthoni

In this Primer:
* Vice Presidential Debate Details
* Messages for Tonight and Hashtags from the DNC War Room
* Holding Pence Accountable
* #GirlfriendsforKamala

VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE DETAILS

Date: Wednesday, October 7

Location: The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT

Time: 9-10:30 p.m. ET

Moderator: Susan Page, Washington bureau chief, USA Today

How to Watch: The debate will be broadcast on all major networks and cable news channels. If you don’t have cable, it will also be streamed live on YouTube and by multiple organizations, including C-SPAN and NPR.

Messages for Tonight and Hashtags from the DNC War Room
Hashtags (from DNC War Room): #Debate2020 #TrumpFailure #HealthCareVoter, #ScrantonvsParkAve

Senator Harris:
Senator Harris has always been a champion for us. She shares Joe Biden’s view of standing up for the backbone of this country - working people.

As Attorney General, she beat the big banks and cracked down on mortgage fraud. She took on the ban on gay marriage and helped change the law. She fought big oil to protect the environment. She’s faced down the gun lobby.

In the Senate, she has distinguished herself as a fighter on behalf of the people, on issues ranging from corruption, women’s rights and election interference.

I am all in for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They are the leaders we need. Visit iwillvote.com now to make your plan to vote early.

COVID-19
In late February, Trump appointed Pence to chair the Coronavirus Task Force and lead the administration’s response to the pandemic.

Now, under Pence’s watch, COVID is surging across the country for the third time.

34 states have more new cases now than a month ago
Hospitalizations are rising for the first time in months
There is an outbreak in the White House
Pence and the administration still do not have a plan to protect their own workplace, much less the country

COVID by the numbers:
210,000 Americans have died from COVID-19
more than 7 million have been infected
more than 400,000 small businesses have closed
millions of Americans have lost their jobs.
The U.S. has the most coronavirus cases and the most coronavirus deaths in the world.
Americans are about seven times more likely to die from coronavirus than citizens of other wealthy nations.

COVID + HEALTHCARE: In the middle of a pandemic, Trump-Pence are still fighting to tear away protections from as many as 133 million Americans with preexisting conditions — including cancer survivors and many of the 7 million who survived COVID-19.

Economy
Just yesterday, Trump and Pence walked away from COVID stimulus negotiations to avoid providing relief for hurting Americans until after the election. The negotiations would have helped small businesses, schools, struggling families, and unemployed workers — and saved hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Last week, new numbers were released showing nearly 1 in 6 workers (26.5 million Americans) are receiving unemployment assistance.

For 28 weeks in a row, more workers have filed unemployment claims than any week during any previous recession.

Because of Trump, there will be no help from Washington for the foreseeable future. Instead of getting families relief, he is rushing a Supreme Court confirmation because he wants the Court to take away your health care as quickly as possible.

74% of Americans believe Congress should take action on COVID relief before a SCOTUS appointment.

Biden and Harris will put workers, small businesses, and middle-class families first. They know we can’t just go back to the way things were before the virus — we have to build back better.

During tonight’s vice presidential debate, Pence must answer for the administration’s failed COVID-19 response that he oversees as chair of the Coronavirus Task Force.

Holding Pence Accountable
Here are some of the key questions he needs to answer for the American public:
* As chair of the Task Force, do you agree with the president that Americans shouldn’t be afraid of COVID-19? What message does that send to the hundreds of thousands of American families who have lost a loved one to this virus?
* You’re in charge of the federal response to the coronavirus, and now there’s an outbreak at the White House that’s reached the highest levels of government. Shouldn’t responsible leadership start at home?
* Have you ever objected to Trump's reckless gatherings, including the recent event in the Rose Garden with more than 150 mostly unmasked individuals who interacted indoors and outdoors for lengthy periods of time?
* Once it became clear that there was an outbreak among White House staff and associates of the president, why wasn’t contact tracing immediately implemented?
* Your own Coronavirus Task Force recommends mask wearing to help protect against the coronavirus. Should you have mandated masks at the White House before the current outbreak?
* As chair of the Task Force, have you ever suggested to Trump that masks should be mandated at his rallies or your own rallies?
* As chair of the Task Force, did you think it was wise for Trump to do a photo op while infected with COVID-19, which unnecessarily exposed Secret Service agents to the virus?
* Why did the White House press secretary speak to reporters without a mask after multiple people she had contact with tested positive for the coronavirus?
* Why did you write an op-ed back in June that declared victory on combating the coronavirus and claimed fears of a second wave were “overblown” when at the same time the White House was receiving increasingly dire warnings about “red zone” states that were facing skyrocketing cases and rising test positivity rates?
* Why did you encourage governors to repeat the lie that cases were only spiking in states because of an increase in testing?
* The GAO recently found that there is still a nationwide shortage of testing supplies. More than seven months into this crisis, why does the American public still not have reliable access to rapid testing?
* Last week, six states reached record highs for hospitalizations. This week, Dr. Fauci said that he was “disturbed” by the number of new coronavirus cases in the United States, which is averaging around 40,000 each day. How can you claim to be meeting this moment when cases are moving in the wrong direction?
* America leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases and reported deaths, and the damage to our economy is among the worst in the world. Other countries have gotten control of COVID-19 through a national plan, including mask wearing and strict protocols, and are on the road to recovery. Why has the U.S. never had a national plan?

Today the Biden Campaign Launched #GirlfriendsforKamala
Tonight will be historic!! To mark this moment, the Biden/Harris campaign will bring women from across the country together to join the conversation by using #GirlfriendsforKamala to tweet their reactions, feedback, messages of encouragement, and solidarity during the debate! Share the graphics (linked below) to post to social channels today to tag 5 friends and get them involved in the social campaign!

Tomorrow, (Oct. 8) we encourage women to host your own “Girlfriends for Kamala” post-debate conversations with your friends and family on IG/FB Live, creating a viral moment where women across the country are discussing:
* The history made - the first Black woman, the first AAPI woman in the Vice Presidential debate
* The power of the woman vote
* How Biden-Harris will tackle COVID and unify our nation
* How Kamala slayed the debate!
* The need for everyone to VOTE, promotingIWillVote.com ([link removed]) to help people figure out how, when and where to vote.

ACTION ITEMS:

Oct 7 - We need YOU to commit to using #GirlfriendsforKamala on social to send messages of encouragement, feedback and reactions about the debate and post the graphics (linked below) and tag 5 friends to join the conversation.

Oct 8 (and beyond) - Host your own #GirlfriendsforKamala conversations on FB/IG Live so that we can keep the conversation going!

Keep an eye out for more Girlfriends Conversations with your favorite celebs hosted by the campaign over the coming weeks.

Graphics:

Girlfriends for Kamala (for Twitter or Facebook)

Social Graphic 1 ([link removed])

Social Graphic 2 ([link removed])

Tag 5 Girlfriends (for Instagram or Facebook)

KamalaImage(Type) - Graphic ([link removed])

KamalaImage(Script) - Graphic ([link removed])

CampaignImage(Type) - Graphic ([link removed])

CampaignImage(Script) - Graphic ([link removed])


Thank you in advance for helping to amplify the messages our communities need to hear as they make critical decisions about our collective future.

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