Tim Kaine did his best to unnerve Mike Pence during Tuesday’s vice presidential debate by constantly interrupting and talking over the Indiana governor.
But the cool and collected Pence, a former radio host, effortlessly batted away Kaine’s attempts to hijack the debate.
The Republican National Committee and the poll-analysis website FiveThirtyEight both determined Kaine interrupted Pence over 70 times, compared to just over 40 interruptions for Pence.
During his opening statement at the debate, Kaine said his primary role will be to act as Hillary Clinton’s “right-hand person.”
Moderator Elaine Quijano of CBS News largely allowed Kaine to run roughshod over the format, allowing him to repeatedly interject while Pence attempted to speak. However, Pence often was prepared with a witty rejoinder.
For example, early in the debate, Kaine exclaimed Pence and Trump “love Russia” and were supporters of Vladimir Putin after Pence denounced Russian aggression permitted by the Obama administration.
Pence responded, “Well, senator, I must have hit a nerve here.”
Kaine insulted Pence later by calling him “Donald Trump’s apprentice” but Pence coolly told the Virginia senator to stop interrupting during Pence’s time.
The debate moderator also tried to interrupt Pence during his attack on Clinton’s email scandal.
Quijano also appeared to support Kaine during his criticism of Trump when she said “right” in agreement with Kaine.
Kaine said: ‘This is important, Elaine. When a guy running for president will not support the troops, not support veterans, not support teachers … .”
“Right,” agreed Quijano, before Kaine could finish his remark.
She later stopped Pence before his remarks on the Clinton Foundation were over despite Kaine having plenty of time to defend the charity and attack the Trump Foundation.
David Axelrod, President Obama’s former chief strategist, took to Twitter and said Quijano seemed “intent on running through her questions, even when significant exchanges” were taking place.
But the most bizarre interruption came when Kaine blurted out a seeming non sequitur when Pence was discussing the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“I was there, I was there!” Kaine exclaimed strangely. “I know you were,” Pence responded. “It was a terrible day for us all.”
Political consultant Frank Luntz declared Pence was “winning” the debate because Kaine “cannot debate like an adult without interruptions.”
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus described Kaine as having “desperately flailed away with empty platitudes and constant interruptions.”
Trump’s campaign accused Kaine on Twitter of sexism for “ignoring” Quijano’s questions.
How many times has @TimKaine ignored and interrupted the female moderator tonight? #sexist,’ Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager, tweeted Tuesday night.
“Sure hope Time Kaine gets a prize each time must-say buzzwords spill from his mouth even tho (sic) they bear no relation whatsoever to the question,” tweeted Conway.
Other commentators from both sides of the political aisle also expressed their annoyance with Kaine’s antics.
Tim Kaine is really pushing it with the interruptions, very annoying to viewers #VPDebate
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) October 5, 2016
Kaine’s interruptions-even to make sure people knew he was in Va on 9-11 during Pence’s answr- don’t seem to be coming off well in the hall
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) October 5, 2016
Agreed. And Kaine’s interruptions are not helping him. He seems too eager to jump in. #VPdebate https://t.co/8Xjx8x87aT
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) October 5, 2016
Pence also caught Kaine flat-footed on a number of key exchanges.
Early in the debate, Kaine complained “Gov. Pence doesn’t think the world’s going so well and he, you know, is going to say it’s everybody’s fault.”
“Do you?” Pence quickly shot back.
Pence also won cheers from Republicans when he dismantled one of Kaine’s scripted lines. Kaine asked: “Do you want a ‘you’re hired’ president in Hillary Clinton or do you want a ‘you’re fired’ president in Donald Trump? I think that’s not such a hard choice.”
Pence wryly responded: “Well, first, let me say, I appreciated the ‘you’re hired,’ ‘you’re fired’ thing, senator. You use that a whole lot. And I think your running mate used a lot of pre-done lines.”
Luntz also said Pence may have scored the “knockout punch” of the night when he responded to Kaine’s charge the Republicans were running an “insult-driven campaign.”
Pence stated:
“I mean, to be honest with you, if Donald Trump had said all of the things that you’ve said he said in the way you said he said them, he still wouldn’t have a fraction of the insults that Hillary Clinton leveled when she said that half of our supporters were a basket of deplorables. It’s — she said they were irredeemable, they were not American.
“I mean, it’s extraordinary. And then she labeled one after another ‘ism’ on millions of Americans who believe that we can have a stronger America at home and abroad, who believe we can get this economy moving again, who believe that we can end illegal immigration once and for all.”
Pence did make one notable mistake early in the debate when he thanked “Norwood University” for hosting. The debate was held at Longwood University in Virginia.
“Norwood University” doesn’t exist, but the term was trending in the Washington, D.C., area for the remainder of the event.
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