--- title: Vice-Presidential Debate: Tim Kaine, Mike Pence Clash description: The vice-presidential debate, scheduled for Tuesday night in rural Virginia, is going to be anything but dramatic canonical: https://time.com/4517293/vice-presidential-debate-tim-kaine-mike-pence/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-04T03:08:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:06.092Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Vice-Presidential Debate Will Showcase the Overlooked og:description: Two running mates who keep their heads low og:url: https://time.com/4517293/vice-presidential-debate-tim-kaine-mike-pence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2bcb2a99587cd027/6988a88e524fc0bca2df9b57/vp.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: vp og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Vice-Presidential Debate Will Showcase the Overlooked twitter:description: Two running mates who keep their heads low twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2bcb2a99587cd027/6988a88e524fc0bca2df9b57/vp.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Vice-Presidential Debate Will Showcase the Overlooked > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=e159f70a-ea44-405c-9b86-b4415f42a73e&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch Mike Pence Speak at the Republican Convention [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Mike Pence Speak at the Republican Convention](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/efUty1iF.m3u8) (2:17)  _Published 2016-07-21. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence made his national debut with a speech at the Republican national convention with a self-deprecating speech that focused on his running mate, Donald Trump._  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Oct 4, 2016 3:08 AM UTC  David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images; Patrick McDermott—Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Oct 4, 2016 3:08 AM UTC The first debate of 2016’s general election was a made-for-TV blockbuster that drew a record audience. Absent a dramatic and out-of-character meltdown, the running mates’ clash, scheduled for Tuesday night in rural Virginia, is going to be anything but. In fact, almost half of Americans can’t even tell you the names of the dutiful vice-presidential hopefuls. If they keep doing their jobs, that won’t change and the focus of the evening will stay on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. As in a restaurant, you’ll remember the boldest element on the plate, not the side dish. They are the mashed potato, the steamed broccoli, the plain rice. After all, the first rule of VP nominees is that they don’t overshadow the top of the presidential ticket. Big wattage VP picks are generally a drag. (Just ask John McCain about his choice of Sarah Palin in 2008.) So far, this year’s pair has accomplished the task of flying low with aplomb, especially since the nominees this year are two of the most famous people in America. In fact, these candidates are doing such a good job of going unnoticed that we will be able to preview this debate without mentioning their names until the very last paragraph, and it won’t affect this story at all. Why? Because VP debates generally don’t matter. They’re auditions to become constitutional understudies in a role that one of FDR’s Vice Presidents described as not worth a warm bucket of spit. With the notable exception of Lloyd Bentsen’s famous “you’re no Jack Kennedy” retort against Dan Quayle during 1988’s VP debate, there have been seldom moments that break through the noise of the general election. Even then, the loser of that memorable jab went on to serve four years as George H.W. Bush’s Vice President. Bentsen went back to chairing the powerful Senate Finance Committee — no harm done to either. Strategists for both camps this year see a common goal. Do no damage. Give no voter a reason to cast a ballot against the presidential nominee you support. Minimize any differences with your running mate — even when there are serious ones on policy and personality alike. Survive 90 minutes of live TV and get back on the trail focused on keeping the parties’ bases engaged. Such skills won prime consideration when Clinton was picking her No. 2\. She explicitly did not want to look up from one of her briefing books to see a voter on TV expressing regret that Clinton was in the top slot instead of the VP one. (Hence, no Elizabeth Warren.) There’s about as much chance of that happening these days as anyone out-Trumping Trump. It’s the same for Trump. He has own corps of supporters who can go on TV to make the case for his candidacy. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has shown no shame in making the case for Trump. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama are also firmly in the mind-set to justify Trump’s unconventional behavior. Trump’s running mate doesn’t need to lend his voice to that discordant chorus, and has on occasion released statements that, as gingerly as possible, made clear he would have said things differently. For instance, where Trump refused to release his taxes, his could-be governing partner released his. Clinton’s running mate, meanwhile, is 8-0 in elections. He is a skilled evader of awkward moments, courtesy of his aw-shucks dad-isms. He’s an affable Senator from Virginia, a former governor of his state, an ex-Democratic National Committee chairman and civil rights lawyer. But he knows how to make the attack with a smile, all but insulating him from charges of playing dirty as he flashes his charm and smile. He’ll be facing someone who is equally no slouch. A former member of House Republicans’ leadership team and a former talk-radio host, the governor of Indiana knows how to communicate with his party’s conservative and Evangelical bases. He has been practicing for months, with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a pal, standing in for the man Clinton’s campaign is sending to spar. In some ways, the debate is an ultimate version of network-TV greenroom: two supporters of presidential nominees debating the records and ideas of people who couldn’t be there, with the public largely indifferent to the experiences of those who are on stage. Both campaigns would be happy if talk never turned to the running mates at all. Clinton’s team is dreading questions about how Catholicism runs counter to capital punishment. Trump’s team likewise would be fine if moderator Elaine Quijano of CBS News never cites the Bible in a question. Democratic running mate Tim Kaine and his GOP counterpart, Mike Pence, are slated to have their sole debate on the campus of Longwood University, starting at 9 p.m. If they’re successful, they will not change the results of an ABC News [poll](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/40-percent-americans-vp-candidates/story?id=42497013&cid=abcnp%5Ftco) that found 41% of Americans can’t identify Pence as Trump’s VP pick, and the 46% can’t link Kaine with Clinton. ## Transcript [00:00] I accept your nomination to run and serve as vice president [00:04] of the United States of America. With this united [00:08] party, he's got backup, and on November 8th, I know we [00:12] will elect Donald Trump to be the 45th president of the [00:16] United States of America. This election comes down to just [00:19] two names on the ballot, so let's resolve Here and now that [00:23] Hillary Clinton will never become President of the United [00:27] States of America. [ APPLAUSE ] And where else would [00:31] an independent spirit like his find a following than in the [00:35] land of the free and the home of the brave? [ APPLAUSE ] [00:39] And my fellow Republicans When Donald Trump becomes [00:43] president of the United States of America the change will [00:46] be huge. [ APPLAUSE ] Every [00:51] American should know that while we're filling the [00:54] presidency for the next four years, this election will define [00:57] the Supreme Court for the next 40. [ APPLAUSE ] And [01:02] it was Hillary Clinton who left Americans in harm's way in [01:06] Benghazi. And after four Americans fell, said, what [01:09] difference, at this point, does it make? [ APPLAUSE ] [01:16] And if the world knows nothing else, it will know this. [01:20] America stands with Israel. [ APPLAUSE ] [01:28] We are as we have always been one [01:33] nation, under God, indivisible, [01:37] with liberty and justice for all. This is. [01:43] Another time for choosing. We have [01:47] but one choice and that man is ready. This [01:51] team is ready. Our party is ready and [01:55] when we elect Donald Trump the forty- fifth President of [02:00] the United States, together we will make America great... [02:04] Again. 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