The 2020 vice presidential debate concluded earlier, and while it wasn’t the awful spectacle that the first presidential debate of the race turned out to be, and Kamala Harris delivered exactly what we were all looking forward to seeing from her, it was still a mess in its own way—and, once again, the most memorable parts didn’t really have anything to do with actual policy.
First, there was Mike Pence’s literal pink eye. Whether it was conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye, or just an unfortunately similar look is hard to say, but either way, it was distracting, to say the least:
Kamala Harris’ stink eye vs. Mike Pence’s pink eye. pic.twitter.com/qI6iI8MVx2
— Tamara Dhia (@tamaradhia) October 8, 2020
It was also just kind of humorous after Joe Biden’s eye caused a similar stir at CNN’s 7-hour (yes, literally) climate change town hall:
Former VP @JoeBiden appears to have an issue with his eye while on @CNN for their *7-HOUR LONG* #ClimateTownHall. pic.twitter.com/8RmATj5j53
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) September 5, 2019
Although, people were quick to point out that pink eye can be caused by COVID-19, which makes Pence’s slightly more concerning as those around him announce they’ve contracted the novel coronavirus like they’re stepping forward to claim they’re Spartacus. If that, in addition to the plexiglass barriers,
This shot of Kamala Harris and Mike Pence’s ghost because she destroyed him in tonight’s debate. pic.twitter.com/YOIC2Edr1S
— Lauren Pokedoff 🔮✨ (@LaurenPokedoff) October 8, 2020
wasn’t enough to get people to associate Mike Pence with pestilence, the fly that took up residence on his head for a couple of minutes may have done the trick:
Total time a fly sat on Mike Pence’s head: two minutes pic.twitter.com/PtI0rKSi5I
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) October 8, 2020
Minutes before this debate, Donald Trump accused Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden of treason. https://t.co/X2KpRf0Fx3
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) October 8, 2020
Kamala handily won that debate. The fly gets second place.
— Meena Harris (@meenaharris) October 8, 2020
hi everyone!! i’m on tv!!
— fly in mike pence’s hair (@flyinmikepence) October 8, 2020
Did anyone else see The Fly on Mike Pence’s head? #VPDebate2020 pic.twitter.com/7jVHqM4TcZ
— Max Miller (@RuinMyWeek) October 8, 2020
The man literally has a zombie eye and flies hanging out on his head. What more really needs to be said about this ghoulish administration? pic.twitter.com/cWxiuxFKTT
— John Squires (@FreddyInSpace) October 8, 2020
— Joanna Robins🎃n (@jowrotethis) October 8, 2020
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 8, 2020
“Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.”
Ecclesiastes 10:1 pic.twitter.com/iQIYekreQd
— The Sparrow Project (@sparrowmedia) October 8, 2020
And of course, because this debate involved the Trump administration, there was plenty of lying and taking credit for things other people did going around, from Mike Pence touting the cleanliness of our air and water that the Trump administration has actively sought to undermine, to claims about our Paris Accord-free progress on climate. Pence also tried a bizarre tactic with saying the H1N1 “swine flu” would have killed far more people if it had been as deadly as COVID-19, but … it wasn’t, so comparing the response is strange, to say the least. COVID-19 has already killed about twenty times as many people.
However, the highlight of the night can be summed up in a single moment: Kamala Harris reminding Pence that she was speaking.
In multiple moments throughout the #VPdebate, Mike Pence sought to speak over or interrupt Kamala Harris.
“If you don’t mind letting me finish, we can have a conversation. Okay? Okay,” she said at one point. https://t.co/WArmhYcEdR pic.twitter.com/QbI0QtDPev
— Vox (@voxdotcom) October 8, 2020
Pence wasn’t nearly the interruption machine Trump was at the last debate, but Harris was confident in the face of his nonsense all night, and it just felt good to watch.
(image: CSpan screengrab)
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