Salt Lake City, United States, Oct 8 (AFP/APP):Kamala Harris on Wednesday assailed Donald Trump’s response to Covid-19 as a failure in a high-stakes debate with Vice President Mike Pence against the backdrop of the president’s own infection. With Pence first in line for the presidency should Trump be unable to perform his duties, and Harris essentially auditioning to be the Democratic Party’s future leader under a President Joe Biden, their pandemic showdown took on fresh urgency 27 days before the election. “The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country,” Harris, a US senator from California and former prosecutor, said in the first moments of the debate in which the candidates were separated by plexiglass. Saying Trump treated front-line health personnel as “sacrificial workers,” Harris — pointing to Trump’s own statements to journalist Bob Woodward — accused the White House of not taking action despite knowing the risks of Covid-19. “The president said it was a hoax. They minimized the seriousness of it,” Harris said. After a raucous debate eight days ago between Trump and Biden, Pence and Harris initially took a more civil tone, with no name-calling, but … Continue reading Harris assails Trump virus response in high-stakes Pence debate