Here Are The Winners And Losers From The Vice Presidential Debate

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

There was a clear victor in the vice presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence. Here are the winners and losers from the VP debate.

Winners and Losers:

Winners:

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1). Tim Kaine- Just like his running mate, Tim Kaine prepared and ready for the debate with a clear message. Sen. Kaine’s experience at all levels of government and time in the Senate left him more prepared for the debate than Mike Pence.

Kaine came out firing at Donald Trump. Tim Kaine was able to explain what a Clinton/Kaine administration will do in more detail than anything Pence could offer. The debate fell apart for Pence as soon as he was asked about Trump’s tax returns, and he never recovered.

Sen. Kaine had Trump so rattled that towards the end of the debate, Pence voluntarily brought up Trump’s tax returns. He tried to use the Clinton Foundation as an attack and depended on the widely debunked AP report on the Clinton Foundation. Kaine was able to effectively defend Clinton at every turn and brought up the Trump Foundation that was fined for an illegal political contribution, and explained the difference between the Clinton Foundation and the Trump Foundation.

Losers:

1).Gov. Mike Pence- Mike Pence was placed on the defensive all through the debate. Pence couldn’t offer policy specifics of what Trump would do. Pence was reduced to whining about negativity and muttering nonsense in response to Kaine. The email issue that Republicans were demanding Trump and Pence use in the debates completely bombed.

Unlike Trump, Mike Pence was prepared for the debate, but he faced the impossible task of defending Donald Trump’s statements and behavior. Pence couldn’t defend Trump. He didn’t even try. All Pence did was claim that factually true statements were false.

Mike Pence had an awful debate. Tim Kaine put him on the defense. Kaine was the aggressor who also had facts and policy specifics. Pence had the campaign’s vague talking points, and whole lot of whining about insults that didn’t happen.

Tim Kaine was ready to deliver Hillary Clinton’s message. Mike Pence’s performance revealed that Donald Trump has no message.

2). Moderator Elaine Quijano- Quijano tried her best, but she lost control of the debate. She could not keep the candidates in their lanes. She allowed the candidates to not address questions and meander off. Lester Holt did a great job of keeping both Clinton and Trump in their lanes during the presidential debate, but Elaine Quijano couldn’t keep the debate from getting sloppy and distracting.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association