"In the vice presidential debate, Vice President Pence took a number of flimsy claims out of the Trump playbook, although he often delivered them more deftly," The Washington Post fact-checkers wrote after Wednesday night's debate. "Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) also stretched the truth at times." Pence was certainly "more buttoned-up on the stage than his boss," The Associated Press adds, but he "nevertheless echoed many of President Donald Trump’s falsehoods."
"Pence muddied the reality on the pandemic, asserted Trump respects the science on climate change when actually the president mocks it, overstated the threat of voting fraud, and misrepresented the Russia investigation in the Salt Lake City debate," AP said. 'Harris got tangled in tax policy at one point and misleadingly suggested that Trump branded the coronavirus a hoax."
"I think the whopper of the night was Vice President Pence's claim that they always tell the truth," Daniel Dale said on CNN. "I mean, it's vague, but this was on the subject of the pandemic. ... It's not a specific policy claim or something, but that, to me, was egregious."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Factually, the debate "was imperfect, but it was conventional political spin and dishonesty, rather than just the avalanche of lies we get regularly from President Trump," Dale concluded. "Vice President Pence made a number of significant false claims, including when he said that 'we always tell the truth' on the pandemic — that itself is just not true. Sen. Harris herself made some false and misleading claims, certainly was not perfect. But for me, selfishly, it was a little bit at least a chance to take a breath after dealing with Trump for four or five years."
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raidsIn the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classroomsPros and cons The devices could be major distractions
-
Russia slams Kyiv, hits government buildingSpeed Read This was Moscow's largest aerial assault since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022
-
China's Xi hosts Modi, Putin, Kim in challenge to USSpeed Read Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Asian leaders at an SCO summit
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU officesSpeed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping missionSpeed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
Israeli double strike on Gaza hospital kills 20Speed Read The dead include five journalists who worked for The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kyiv marks independence as Russia downplays peaceSpeed Read President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy for peace talks pushed by President Donald Trump
-
Trump halts Gaza visas as Israelis protest warSpeed Read Laura Loomer voiced her concerns over injured Palestinian kids being brought to the US for treatment and a potential 'Islamic invasion'
