On Wednesday, ahead of the vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, NBC reporter Amanda Golden posted a picture of the debate stage, complete with the infection control features the candidates and debate commission agreed to for the safety of the candidates, moderator, and audience — including the plexiglass barriers that Pence's team had objected to.
But commenters on social media immediately noticed the setup looked wrong. The seats still looked unnecessarily close to each other, making no use of space that could have been used for further social distancing, and the plexiglass barriers were small and only separated the candidates, leaving the side facing the moderator table completely exposed. Many demanded to know why the candidates were even sharing a stage at all, and why the Commission on Presidential Debates could put them in separate studios, or have them call in remotely.