WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris is expected to attend Debate level Wednesday night raised the stakes for an event that has been a regular, endless part of the presidential election for decades, against an unusual backdrop.

No vice president has discussed whether the president is ill or still in hospital. The two vice presidential candidates were never discussed at a time when Americans were giving so much more than serious thought to how each could lead to higher jobs.

“Vice Presidential debates often attract more attention at this time, and then after a few days they are forgotten,” said Presidential Historian Michael Peshlos. “But this year it may be different.”

After President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden has already intensified the focus of the debate in Salt Lake City Chaotic scene In their initial discussion last week and the country is catching up with a global epidemic and a collapsing economy.

The president’s allies, in particular, were watching Pence 27 days before the election.

“He has to deliver a very determined performance and he has to find a way to succeed,” one friendly country said.

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A national NBC News / Wall Street Journal Poll The release on Sunday showed that Biden’s lead rose to 14 points after the debate, with voters 2 to 1 saying that Biden performed better than Trump.

Within weeks of Trump being tested positive for the corona virus and admitted to the hospital, Benz and Harris had prepared several hours for their discussion – analyzing policy books, conducting workshops and long mock sessions for anticipated attacks.

The two spent the weekend preparing for Wednesday’s debate, which was still scheduled to take place in person. Harris was in Salt Lake City on Friday and Benz, who was in Washington, is expected to travel to Utah on Monday.

According to three people who knew the planning, they would have sat 12 feet apart, rather than the original 7 feet apart.

Pence and Harris’ aides said they did not significantly change the attitudes they had largely prepared for the president’s health debate, but that it had forced them to reconsider their tone.

According to Harris, criticizing Trump’s handling of the epidemic is sensitive to his war with the virus.

Benz is now entering the debate on whether Trump should reduce the epidemic again and again – and protect against violating public health recommendations – while Trump and other Republicans have become increasingly ill after following the path of the White House.

Tone was already the focus for the Benz and Harris teams. Candidates have been practicing how to avoid seeing each side as potential dangers related to race and gender, both of which are naturally part of the debate.

Harris is the only woman or man of color on the ticket.

Benz’s products include following the path to the best Harris without exposing himself to criticism that Harris is acting in a disrespectful or sexual manner. Those familiar with the product said it emphasizes the importance of a respectful tone. Or, as one friendly country put it, Pence is advised not to “attack a woman.”

There has also been an attempt to mix up Pence’s debating team. Most of the key players in his inner circle are white men. Trump allies have suggested that Pam Pandey, who has known Harris since the six years he served as attorney general, include Pandey in Florida and Harris in California, among others.

Some of Trump’s advisers thought the mockery would play out in a better session than the former Wisconsin government’s Scott Walker, who was involved and sen. Tim Cain, D-W., During the preparation of the Benz debate in 2016. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post, but neither she nor Pence’s office will respond.

Harris’ products took into account how his case against Trump and Benz could be forcibly constructed without provoking possible stereotypes about gender and race. Although Harris is well aware of the dynamic, she ran for office statewide and despite being a presidential candidate, her allies have advised her to run that route.

Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, has advised Harris to be “firm and efficient” in her denials, but “do so in a way that does not intimidate or alienate voters.”

Susan Page, head of USA Today’s Washington bureau – a woman who manages the discussion – said Harris’ allies could not be hurt.

Pence’s aides tried to keep the details of his products secret, advising outside associates not to discuss them with the media. Pence told Trump supporters Thursday that he planned to “fight the Biden-Harris agenda.” This is expected to include trying to define Harris as the driving force behind the Democratic left.

According to those familiar with the matter, Harris is preparing to focus on Trump and cast Pence as an accomplice in his boss’ mistakes.

“This discussion is about Donald Trump. This discussion is not about Mike Pence,” said someone familiar with his products. “He is complicit in the defeats of Donald Trump.”

Also, a Harris ally said she could make a case that even a member of the vice president’s own team would agree to. Former Benz assistant Olivia Troy Trump has spoken out against his handling of the Corona virus.

Harris’ advisers expect Benz to have a good discussion. They see him as a talented debater as he won the hand in 2016. They consider even Pence’s compliant, hinged behavior to be one of Harris’ challenges, in which it is difficult to resist the claims that his presentation is false.

“We’re getting ready to discuss someone who’s going to lie, but we’re going to lie with a smile,” said the person who knew his products, and Harris would try to equalize by criticizing Trump’s record and outlining what Biden would do as president.

Benz has held several discussion sessions, some of which last several hours. Harris’ arrangements often took place in his Washington offices. He uses code cards, and some of his associates play Benz in fake sessions, including former South Bend, Indiana, and Mayor Pete Pattick, according to someone familiar with the matter.

After the Trump-Biden debate, both campaigns expect more Americans to see the vice presidential debate to try to figure out what each candidate’s agenda really is. They also expect Wednesday’s debate to be far less controversial than the one between Biden and Trump.

Pence and Harris are set to take a post-debate approach like Trump and Biden, who plan to go on the campaign trail on Thursday. The Trump campaign announced that Benz would host events in several states. Harris is scheduled to campaign with Biden in Arizona.