Vice presidential debate bashed as too 'dull' to make a difference

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published 8 October 2020

The early reactions to the first and only vice presidential of the 2020 election cycle are that it may be quickly forgotten, save, perhaps, for one fly's two minutes of fame.

Politico's Tim Alberta wasn't overly critical of the performance of either Vice President Mike Pence or Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), the Democratic vice presidential nominee, but he deemed the event too "dull" to make any real difference in the presidential race.

McClatchy's Alex Roarty noted that both candidates put some of their debate skills on display and suggested Harris coming across as "credible" might be the most important long-term takeaway from the showdown, but he largely agreed there wasn't too much to write home about overall.

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Axios' Mike Allen likewise ended his "snap-analysis newsletter" on the debate by saying: "It was more polite than Trump vs. Biden. But we didn't learn a lot more."

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.