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After Clash of No. 2s, Both Campaigns Say, ‘We’re No. 1’ After Mike Pence’s Debate Showing, Donald Trump Takes Credit
(about 5 hours later)
Donald J. Trump’s campaign hailed Mike Pence’s debate performance as proof of Mr. Trump’s readiness for the presidency on Wednesday morning, trumpeting Mr. Trump’s judgment in picking a seasoned running mate as Democrats ridiculed Mr. Pence for failing to defend Mr. Trump’s ideas and policies. Donald J. Trump hailed Mike Pence’s steady debate performance as a credit to his own judgment on Wednesday in a renewed attempt to allay voters’ concerns about his temperament and readiness for the presidency.
Kellyanne Conway, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, argued on several television programs that Mr. Pence, the governor of Indiana, had vindicated the man at the top of the Republican ticket during his Tuesday night clash with Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. Calling Mr. Pence the “first hire” of his administration, Mr. Trump said his running mate was an advertisement for government à la Trump. He pronounced himself “very, very proud of Gov. Mike Pence.”
Mr. Kaine mounted an insistent and prodding attack on Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence at the 90-minute debate, frequently interrupting Mr. Pence to demand that he defend Mr. Trump’s politically divisive statements. “Last night, America also got to look firsthand at my judgment — and that was judgment,” Mr. Trump said in Nevada. “You know you need judgment for people, for deals.”
An unruffled Mr. Pence sidestepped those demands, repeatedly asserting that Mr. Trump had not said things that he actually did say, and delivering something close to a boilerplate Republican message attacking taxes and business regulation. With a swift and not-so-subtle effort to link Mr. Pence’s debate outing back to the top of the ticket, Mr. Trump and his advisers tried once again to move on from one of the worst stretches of his campaign. After a widely panned performance in his debate last week with Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump faces a steeper climb than ever as he works to persuade voters that he is fit for the presidency.
Mr. Pence took something of a victory lap at a campaign stop in Harrisonburg, Va., where Ed Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, introduced him as “one heck of a debater.” Mr. Pence said Mr. Trump had called to congratulate him, and called the night a win for the top of the ticket. Mr. Trump’s advisers fanned out on television Wednesday to make the most of Mr. Pence’s moment; Kellyanne Conway, his campaign manager, called the debate proof of Mr. Trump’s “great judgment and leadership.”
“From where I sat, Donald Trump won the debate,” Mr. Pence said. “Donald Trump’s vision to make America great again won the debate.” He repeated his charge, from the debate, that Mr. Kaine and Hillary Clinton have been throwing “an avalanche of insults” in the campaign. It is doubtful that Mr. Pence’s performance in his debate with Senator Tim Kaine, Mrs. Clinton’s running mate, will do much to move voters toward Mr. Trump. Mr. Kaine mounted an insistent and prodding attack on Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence at the 90-minute debate, frequently interrupting Mr. Pence to demand that he defend Mr. Trump’s divisive statements.
Mr. Trump’s temperament and readiness for the presidency have emerged as central areas of concern for voters, so the hope among Trump allies is that Mr. Pence may have essentially reassured Americans, by proxy, that Mr. Trump is calm enough for the job. Ms. Conway said on Fox News that Mr. Pence had highlighted “the great judgment and leadership that Donald Trump has exercised” in choosing a running mate. Mr. Pence remained unruffled as he sidestepped those demands, but on Wednesday he faced intense scrutiny — and a battery of attacks from Democrats — for evading questions about Mr. Trump’s record.
Democrats dismissed that notion on Wednesday morning. Acknowledging that Mr. Pence had been a more placid performer than Mr. Kaine, they countered that Mr. Kaine had successfully trained his fire on Mr. Trump, the defining figure in the race, and exposed Mr. Pence as incapable of defending Mr. Trump on the merits. On the stump in Ohio, Bill Clinton chuckled and described Mr. Pence as having tried to “shimmy out of a discussion” on basic economic issues like the minimum wage and equal pay for women. Yet with Mr. Trump’s temperament and readiness for the presidency lingering as central concerns for voters, the hope among Trump allies is that Mr. Pence may have essentially reassured Americans, by proxy, that Mr. Trump is calm enough for the job.
And Democrats assailed Mr. Pence for having misrepresented the issue positions and past comments of his running mate; the Clinton campaign released a video showing Mr. Pence’s denials alongside clips of Mr. Trump’s remarks. The video concludes with a dig at both Mr. Pence and Mr. Trump: “It’s O.K., Mike. We’d have a hard time defending him, too.” Democrats dismissed that possibility on Wednesday morning. And they assailed Mr. Pence for having misrepresented the positioning and past comments of his running mate; the Clinton campaign released a video showing Mr. Pence’s denials alongside clips of Mr. Trump’s remarks. The video concludes with a dig at both men: “It’s O.K., Mike. We’d have a hard time defending him, too.”
John Podesta, the chairman of Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, said on the MSNBC program “Morning Joe” that Mr. Pence had been “smooth,” but ultimately ineffective. Mr. Kaine’s goal, Mr. Podesta said, was to “challenge Mike Pence to defend Donald Trump, and Mike Pence didn’t do it.” Rallying supporters at a Philadelphia union hall on Wednesday evening, Mr. Kaine kept swinging at Mr. Trump and his running mate. “He’s pretty smooth,” Mr. Kaine said of Mr. Pence. “But there is one thing he can’t do, and that is defend Donald Trump on anything — on anything.” Mr. Kaine allowed that he had been “dinged a little bit, even by my wife, for, like, interrupting too much.”
Mr. Podesta suggested that Mr. Pence might be more interested in protecting his own political future than winning the current election. “Mike Pence looked more like he was looking at 2020 than 2016,” he said, adding, “Tim got the job done.” But Democrats said Mr. Kaine had successfully trained his fire on Mr. Trump and exposed Mr. Pence as incapable of defending his running mate on the merits. On the stump in Ohio, Bill Clinton described Mr. Pence as having tried to “shimmy out of a discussion” on basic economic issues like the minimum wage and equal pay for women.
There is scant polling information on how most voters reacted to the debate, and it is unclear that an encounter between comparatively low-key running mates might reshape a race waged between two outsize presidential candidates. And at a fund-raising event in Washington, Mrs. Clinton poked fun at Mr. Pence for having “bobbed and weaved” his way through the debate. “Pence refused to defend the statements because they are indefensible,” she said. “So when your own running mate won’t defend the top of the ticket, I think that tells you everything you need to know.”
But any shift in state and national polls after the vice-presidential debate might not show up before the next debate between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton, on Sunday – a far more consequential event in the race, and one that is much likelier to shift voter attitudes. Mr. Pence repeatedly disputed quotations from Mr. Trump that were, in fact, accurate: He claimed in one instance that Mr. Trump had not indicated he might allow more nations to acquire nuclear weapons, though Mr. Trump had done just that. At one point, Mr. Pence appeared to break openly with Mr. Trump in his views about Russia, calling Mr. Putin a “small and bullying leader,” though Mr. Trump had consistently said the opposite.
Ms. Conway expressed confidence on Wednesday morning that Mr. Trump would offer a “powerful performance” in the second presidential debate, a town hall-style discussion at Washington University in St. Louis. She likened the format to Mr. Trump’s rallies, though Mr. Trump rarely takes questions from members of his audience or engages in traditional retail politics. Still, Mr. Trump’s campaign treated the aftermath of the debate as a kind of respite from a turbulent week and a half during which Mr. Trump made a series of intemperate attacks on subjects including a former Miss Universe’s physique and Mrs. Clinton’s marriage.
Mr. Trump is seen as needing a drastic recovery in the second debate after a dismal performance in his first appearance against Mrs. Clinton on Sept. 26. He has slipped markedly in the polls over the last week and appears to have sacrificed much of the ground he captured in the month of September. Mr. Pence took something of a victory lap at a campaign stop in Harrisonburg, Va., where Ed Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, introduced him as “one heck of a debater.” Mr. Pence said Mr. Trump had called to congratulate him, and declared the night a victory for the top of the ticket.
A Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday showed Mrs. Clinton with a 2-point edge over Mr. Trump in Ohio, where he had been running strong; Monmouth surveys this week have also shown Mrs. Clinton leading by double digits in Colorado and Pennsylvania. “From where I sat, Donald Trump won the debate,” Mr. Pence said. “Donald Trump’s vision to make America great again won the debate.” He repeated his accusation from the debate that Mr. Kaine and Mrs. Clinton have been throwing “an avalanche of insults” in the campaign.
And Mr. Trump has faced mounting questions over the last week about his treatment of women and the possibility that he may not have paid federal income taxes – two subjects that Mr. Pence avoided discussing at length on Tuesday night but that Mr. Trump may not be able to skirt so easily in a confrontation with Mrs. Clinton. There is scant polling information on how most voters reacted to the debate, and it is unclear that an encounter between comparatively low-key running mates might reshape a race dominated by two outsize presidential candidates. And any lingering fallout from the candidates’ performances will almost certainly be swallowed up by a debate between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton on Sunday — a far more consequential event, and one much likelier to shift voter attitudes.
Ms. Conway said Mr. Trump had been pleased with Mr. Pence’s outing on behalf of the ticket, and said the two men had spoken in the aftermath of the debate. Mr. Trump signaled his approval of Mr. Pence’s performance through his favorite medium, writing on Twitter late Tuesday night that Mr. Pence “won big.” Ms. Conway, the Trump campaign manager, expressed confidence Wednesday morning that he would offer a “powerful performance” in the second presidential debate, a town hall-style discussion at Washington University in St. Louis. She likened the format to Mr. Trump’s rallies, though he rarely takes questions from members of his audience or engages in traditional retail politics.
Mr. Trump is seen as needing a drastic recovery in Sunday’s debate after a dismal performance against Mrs. Clinton on Sept. 26. He has slipped markedly in the polls over the past week and appears to have sacrificed much of the ground he captured in September.
A Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday showed Mrs. Clinton with a two-point edge over Mr. Trump in Ohio, where he had been running strong; Monmouth surveys this week have also shown Mrs. Clinton leading by double digits in Colorado and Pennsylvania.
Visiting a barbecue restaurant in Harrisonburg, Mr. Pence told an antsy supporter of the Republican ticket that Mr. Trump would be well prepared for his next confrontation with Mrs. Clinton. “We’ve got to get Trump to hammer Sunday night,” the woman told Mr. Pence. “He’s got to bring it all out.”
“He’ll be ready,” Mr. Pence reassured her. “He’ll be ready.”