Donald Trump’s campaign manager said that Tuesday was a “great night” for the GOP nominee, saying Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s performance at the first and only 2016 vice presidential debate demonstrated Mr. Trump’s leadership and judgment in tapping Mr. Pence to be on the Republican ticket.
“An amazing night for Governor Mike Pence,” Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said in an interview that aired Wednesday on “Fox and Friends.”
“He was able to stick to policy. He is very affable, very genial — unlike Senator Tim Kaine [who] for whatever reason could not stop interrupting both Mike Pence and the female moderator,” Ms. Conway said.
Mr. Pence and Mr. Kaine, who is Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s running mate, squared off Tuesday in a debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.
“I thought it was really an unfortunate night for his ticket,” Ms. Conway said. “I think it was a great night for Donald Trump because his first exercise in leadership, the very first [and] most important decision he made as the presidential nominee was his vice presidential selection, and it showed his leadership and his judgment in selecting Governor Pence.”
Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said the job of a No. 2 in vice presidential debates is to defend the presidential candidate and make the case on behalf of their running mate, and to make the case against the person on the other side.
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“I think Tim Kaine did an extremely effective job about explaining why Donald Trump was uniquely unqualified to be president of the United States, and I thought what was notable was the fact that Mike Pence, time after time, took a pass [and] did not choose to defend Donald Trump,” Mr. Fallon said.
A post-debate instant poll from CNN/ORC showed that 48 percent of voters who watched the debate thought Mr. Pence did a better job, compared to 42 percent who chose Mr. Kaine.
Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton will square off in the second presidential debate this Sunday at Washington University in St. Louis in Missouri.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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