Governor Mike Pence can debate — who knew? Donald J Trump’s running mate has been fairly invisible so far this election — his star eclipsed by the great orange fireball that is Trump’s ego. But in last night’s vice-presidential debate, he shone. He was more political (in a good sense), more eloquent and more statesmanlike than his adversary. His performance was, in other words, the opposite of Trump’s in last week’s presidential debate.
Tim Kaine, Hillary’s vice-presidential pick, didn’t do well. He seemed nervous and over-rehearsed: he fired off too many attack lines too quickly, and his tactic of always savaging Donald Trump rather than discussing the issues made him seem petty.
What was notable, however, and has already become the Democrat spin line overnight, was that Pence often refused to stand up for Donald Trump’s character. This gives Hillary a perfect attack line in the next presidential debate — if even Trump’s running mate won’t defend him, what does that say?
In that sense, then, Pence’s good performance is bad news for Trump.
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