Before VP Debate Even Starts, The RNC Mistakenly Posts That Mike Pence Won

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Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:17 pm

Well before the vice presidential debate even began, the RNC officially declared Mike Pence the victor in a post written on GOP.com. The premature post on the party’s website claimed Pence’s strongest moments – which, again, have yet to take place – came on the economy and Hillary Clinton’s scandals.

A screenshot of the post, which has since been taken town from the website:

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According to GOP.com:

Americans from all across the country tuned in to watch the one and only Vice Presidential debate. During the debate we helped fact check and monitor the conversation in real time @GOP. The consensus was clear after the dust settled, Mike Pence was the clear winner of the debate.

The post continued:

Mike Pence made the most of his opportunity to debate Hillary’s VP pick Tim Kaine. The other clear winner from tonight’s debate was Donald Trump. His running mate perfectly shared Trump’s vision to make America great again and that message is resonating with Americans all across the country.

Not only is this a bit premature, but it’s full of wishful thinking. It also proves that Mike Pence could probably fall flat on his face and the GOP is still ready to spin it as a victory.

The early post also reveals that the Trump campaign is just as interested in talking about Hillary Clinton’s non-scandals as they are about the economy, since those are listed as the two most pressing issues Pence will discuss.

This probably isn’t the way the GOP wanted to start off their second major debate night of the campaign season, particularly after how badly the first one went.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.