Wednesday’s vice-presidential debate is unlikely to change the dynamics of the race for the White House. People vote for president. Some might be unnerved and vote against a ticket if they conclude the VP candidate would not be up to taking over the big job — see Sarah Palin as the Republican vice-presidential pick in 2008. But the performances of both participants Tuesday only served to enforce views that they are up for the job should they have to step in for the president.

Yet folks shouldn’t let the moment pass without acknowledging it was something historic. Sen. Kamala Harris is the first Black and South Asian woman, the first graduate of a historically Black college or university, to be on a major-party ticket. The California senator is the child of immigrants; her mother emigrated from India, her father from Jamaica.

And there she was Wednesday, trading rhetorical blows with incumbent Vice President Mike Pence. But the most remarkable thing about it — as historic as it may have been — was that it seemed, well, unremarkable. For most Americans, the installation of panels to discourage viral spread and that pesky fly were more out of place than seeing a woman of color making her argument for being a heartbeat from the presidency.

That’s progress.

Unfortunately, while the vice-presidential candidates were combative but respectful, keeping it about the issues and not the personal, President Trump on Thursday attacked Harris in a manner that suggests he is unhinged.

"She's a communist. She's not a socialist, she's well beyond a socialist," said Trump during a rambling interview on Fox Business. He referred to the senator and former attorney general as the “monster that was onstage with Mike Pence.”

It was so over-the-top, so mean-spirited, so out of touch with the reality of what people who watched the debate witnessed, that it only helped confirm that Americans must vote Trump out of office.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.