Well, that didn’t take long.
We’re only 20 minutes into tonight’s vice presidential debate and it’s looking like there’s another big crisis on the horizon for the Donald Trump campaign. Republican nominee Mike Pence vowed to come into the debate laser-focused and ready to attack, but one undeniable gaffe has many declaring Democratic candidate Tim Kaine the early winner. Did Pence just blow the debate by getting off his own horse to go feed oats to Kaine’s?
Um, yeah. You’re going to see that yikes moment all over Twitter tonight and tomorrow.
If you’re just tuning in, let’s get you up to speed: After introductions from moderator Elaine Quijano, the two candidates entered the stage mounted on their horses and gave their opening statements without incident. But when Quijano asked Pence to describe his views on immigration, the Indiana governor totally fumbled it by hopping down off his horse and walking across the stage to feed Kaine’s horse a handful of oats.
Is Pence wilting before our eyes? Feeding Kaine’s sandy-brown mare in the middle of the debate might prove that Pence can’t handle the pressures of the White House.
“Illegal immigration is a major threat to our economy and our citizens, but my opponent doesn’t seem to understand that,” said Pence as he grabbed a fistful of oats from his jacket pocket and gingerly offered them to Kaine’s horse. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Pence’s tailspin truly became a GOP nightmare when he had to interrupt himself to fetch more oats from a hefty burlap sack backstage.
Pretty much all Kaine has had to do so far is just sit perched atop his horse to be the clear early winner. Trump cannot be happy about this.
There’s still plenty of debate left to go, but Pence has really dug himself into a hole here. Will a strong pivot to his talking points help voters forget that after feeding Kaine’s horse, Pence spent several minutes brushing its mane while cooing “Easy there, gal, easy” into its ear? Only time will tell, and we’ll definitely be watching.
