--- title: Why Tonight's Vice Presidential Debate is Unusual description: The Democratic and Republican running-mates face off in Farmville, Virginia. The Trump foundation is forced to stop raising money. canonical: https://time.com/4517699/why-tonights-vice-presidential-debate-is-unusual/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-04T13:04:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:59:23.890Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why Tonight's Vice Presidential Debate is Unusual og:description: The Democratic and Republican running-mates face off in Farmville, Virginia. The Trump foundation is forced to stop raising money. og:url: https://time.com/4517699/why-tonights-vice-presidential-debate-is-unusual/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Tonight's Vice Presidential Debate is Unusual twitter:description: The Democratic and Republican running-mates face off in Farmville, Virginia. The Trump foundation is forced to stop raising money. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Tonight's Vice Presidential Debate is Unusual > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=46393c4d-0ad3-4e4c-be1e-f7e8860f4a54&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Oct 4, 2016 1:04 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Oct 4, 2016 1:04 PM UTC **_f you only read one thing:_** _If there’s a debate and no one knows who the candidates are did it really happen? We’ll find out tonight as the Democratic and Republican running-mates face off in Farmville, Virginia. This will be no “thrill-in-_[_the-ville.”_](http://www.trbimg.com/img-506475c6/turbine/amn-thrill-on-the-bill-debate-poster-touts-bid-001/600) _Instead, two relatively unknown and largely irrelevant candidates will fight a proxy war for their wanna-be bosses. In a year where so much attention has been paid to the top of the ticket—the inaugural presidential debate last week set a viewership record—this is shaping up to be something of a snooze. Yes, there will be canned lines and perhaps even a serious discussion of policy, but barring a Palin-esque moment, tonight’s matchup will essentially be a pro forma ritual with no impact on the larger race. Almost no voters are ever swayed by the bottom of the ticket, and that’s especially true with two well-defined, and disliked, candidates on top._ What will be notable about the debate is how the two running-mates differ from the presidential nominees. On one side there is the figurative janitor, struggling to erase the stain of his candidate’s many missteps and insults. On the other is the affable everyman, who projects a far more relatable image than his candidate. In both cases, they have significant policy disagreements with the top of the ticket—so much so that a debate within the two tickets would likely be more thrilling than tonight’s bout. We’ll have complete coverage of tonight’s debate on TIME.com this evening. Donald Trump’s own email records come under scrutiny. A GOP Senator’s Trump [agony](https://twitter.com/KellyAyotte/status/783136010200715264). The Trump Foundation is forced to stop raising money. And Democrats plan to hold Trump over the GOP for cycles to come. _Here are your must reads:_ **Must Reads** [The Vice Presidential Debate Will Showcase the Overlooked ](http://time.com/4517293/vice-presidential-debate-tim-kaine-mike-pence/)TIME’s Philip Elliott previews the debate [Dems Build Files to Track Trump ‘Stain’ ](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/democrats-donald-trump-record-229021)The party aims to hang this GOP nominee around Republican necks for years \[Politico\] [Hillary Clinton Goes After Donald Trump’s Taxes in Ohio Campaign Stop ](http://time.com/4516975/donald-trump-taxes-hillary-clinton-toledo/)Trying to undercut populist appeal \[TIME\] [Donald Trump’s ‘Fiduciary Duty’ Excuse on Taxes Is Just Plain Wrong ](http://time.com/4516100/donald-trump-taxes-fiduciary-duty/)The Donald and his surrogates say he has a legal responsibility to minimize tax payments for his shareholders. It’s not a good excuse, TIME’s Rana Foroohar explains [Apprentice Cast Alleges Donald Trump Repeatedly Demeaned Female Contestants ](http://time.com/4516258/apprentice-cast-donald-trump-sexism/)Speaking out as Trump has come under renewed scrutiny over talk toward women \[Associated Press\] [How Hillary Clinton Grappled With Bill Clinton’s Infidelity, and His Accusers ](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/03/us/politics/hillary-bill-clinton-women.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&%5Fr=0)Standing by her husband \[New York Times\] [Trump Was Accused of Destroying Email Evidence in Lawsuit 10 Years Ago ](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/13/trump-accused-destroying-email-evidence-lawsuit-10-years-ago-republican-hillary-president/85795082/)What goes around… \[USA Today\] **Sound Off** “As a businessman and real estate developer, I have legally used the tax laws to my benefit.” — Donald Trump defending his tax payments. “So look, these guys talk about we’re the one – they’re the ones about economic growth. Everything they proposed for the last 15 years has been regressive on growth. We have not grown. It’s like we have self-induced amnesia.” — Joe Biden on the GOP while campaigning for Hillary Clinton **Bits and Bites** [Federal Court Blocks Effort by Mike Pence to Keep Syrian Refugees Out of Indiana](http://time.com/4517403/indiana-mike-pence-syrian-refugees-federal-court/) \[TIME\] [Ron Paul Says He Won’t Be Voting For Libertarian Candidate Gary Johnson](http://time.com/4517360/ron-paul-gary-johnson-jill-stein-libertarian/) \[TIME\] [Donald Trump Defends Leaked Tax Returns: ‘I Have Legally Used the Tax Laws To My Benefit’](http://time.com/4517197/donald-trump-defends-leaked-tax-returns-pueblo/) \[TIME\] [He Once Pursued the Clintons as a Prosecutor. Now He’s Backing Hillary for President](http://time.com/4516790/michael-chertoff-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/) \[TIME\] [Donald Trump’s Foundation Was Just Ordered to Stop Raising Money](http://time.com/4516803/donald-trump-foundation-new-york-attorney-general/) \[TIME\] [President Obama Draws Line from Sarah Palin to Donald Trump](http://time.com/4516462/obama-line-sarah-palin-donald-trump/) \[TIME\] [Inside Clinton’s struggle to win over college students in Ohio](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2016/10/03/daily-202-inside-clinton-s-struggle-to-win-over-college-students-in-ohio/57f1abe4e9b69b0592430081/?wpisrc=nl%5Fdaily202&wpmm=1) \[Washington Post\] [Post reporter Jason Rezaian and his family file federal lawsuit against Iranian government](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/post-reporter-jason-rezaian-and-his-family-file-federal-lawsuit-against-iranian-government/2016/10/03/a36fa8a2-8962-11e6-bff0-d53f592f176e%5Fstory.html?mc%5Fcid=a03fee77ac&mc%5Feid=6402fc38fc) \[Washington Post\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4517699/why-tonights-vice-presidential-debate-is-unusual/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4517699/why-tonights-vice-presidential-debate-is-unusual/"},"headline":"Why Tonight's Vice Presidential Debate is Unusual","datePublished":"2016-10-04T13:04:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:59:23.890Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: October 4","url":"https://time.com/4517699/why-tonights-vice-presidential-debate-is-unusual/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4517699/why-tonights-vice-presidential-debate-is-unusual/","name":"Why Tonight's Vice Presidential Debate is Unusual"}}]}] ```