Roughly one hour into Wednesday's vice presidential debate, moderator Susan Page asked Vice President Mike Pence how the Trump administration planned to protect Americans with preexisting conditions when the Justice Department was seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

"President Trump says he is going to protect people with preexisting conditions, but he has not explained how he would do that," Page said. "Tell us, specifically, how would your administration protect Americans with preexisting conditions to have access to affordable insurance if the Affordable Care Act is struck down?"

Pence did not answer the question. He instead pivoted to discussing the Supreme Court, and Mr. Trump's nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. He asked Senator Kamala Harris if she and former Vice President Joe Biden supported adding seats to the court, and criticized her when she did not respond to his question directly.