With 12 feet and a wall of plexiglass between them, Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) faced off Wednesday night in the only vice presidential debate of the 2020 election cycle.
Democrats praised Harris, a former prosecutor, for her focused rebuttals against false talking points by Pence. Meanwhile, Pence was criticized for pivoting to issues unrelated to the questions he'd been asked.
Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg appeared on the conservative Fox News network to give his perspective on the highly anticipated debate.
When pressed on differences of opinion between Harris and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, the former Mayor didn't mince words.
Watch below.
Pete Buttigieg really went on Fox News and asked "why an evangelical Christian like Mike Pence wants to be on a ticket with a president caught with a porn star." pic.twitter.com/PQnodtivC8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 8, 2020
Fox host Martha McCallum noted that Harris previously supported Medicare for All, while Biden supports supplementing the Affordable Care Act with a public option but not doing away with private insurance.
When asked by McCallum to elaborate, Buttigieg responded:
"Well, there's a classic parlor game of trying to find a little bit of daylight between running mates. If people want to play that game, we could look into why an evangelical Christian like Mike Pence wants to be on a ticket with a president caught with a porn star."
Just ahead of the 2016 election, Trump infamously paid adult film performer Stormy Daniels $130 thousand to keep quiet about an affair the two allegedly had in the early 2000s. Meanwhile, Pence has branded himself as one of the most religious conservatives in Washington.
People were so here for Buttigieg's takedown.
I love this. @PeteButtigieg is absolutely sensational here on Fox News. Love it. Love him x pic.twitter.com/oHm4U77aMc
— James Corden (@JKCorden) October 8, 2020
Do not play with Mayor Pete.
That's it.
That's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/woeB4RCzqT
— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) October 8, 2020
And here comes Mayor Pete with the knockout punch. 😂😂😂 #VPDebate https://t.co/XBGFeXhWYr
— Dr. Avis (@SistahScholar) October 8, 2020
I mean...I did not realize Buttigieg was tall enough to dunk. https://t.co/03nrvvcV59
— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) October 8, 2020
I've had people tell me that they believe no Dem should ever go on Fox News. I wholeheartedly disagree especially if more dems did this. https://t.co/Wj8nC63abL
— Rick Smith (@RickSmithShow) October 8, 2020
Put this one in the books. Mayor Pete won't be back on Fox News anytime soon. He's too smart for them. https://t.co/ttcbXSvOFk
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) October 8, 2020
Meanwhile, Democrats criticized Pence's debate performance.
Pence demanding that Harris answer *his* own personal questions when he won't even answer the moderator's is gross, and exemplary of the gender dynamics so many women have to deal with at work.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 8, 2020
Pence's #VPDebate mansplaining gave us a key insight. See how Pence talked over Harris and Page; imagine him in White House #Covid Task Force meetings where scientists said they were belittled or ignored for speaking hard truths. This arrogance is how Trump and Pence FAILED us.
— Christine Pelosi (@sfpelosi) October 8, 2020
Mike Pence came in fourth in the debate last night behind Kamala, the fly, and the mask Karen Pence was supposed to wear.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) October 8, 2020
frozen GIF by Walt 
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