--- title: Vice Presidential Debate: Audience Reaction Photo description: Before the vice presidential debate began, the moderator reminded the crowd at Longwood University not to cheer. She didn't need to. canonical: https://time.com/4518987/vice-presidential-debate-audience/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-05T02:51:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:31.827Z article:section: Politics og:title: This Photo Sums Up How the Audience Felt About the VP Debate og:description: There was no cheering this time around og:url: https://time.com/4518987/vice-presidential-debate-audience/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8dd992cf2d83b0e0/6988a8b7cd1bbae9a2702958/vice-presidential-debate-tim-kaine-mike-pence-27.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3938 og:image:height: 2215 og:image:alt: TIMEPOL Debate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Photo Sums Up How the Audience Felt About the VP Debate twitter:description: There was no cheering this time around twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8dd992cf2d83b0e0/6988a8b7cd1bbae9a2702958/vice-presidential-debate-tim-kaine-mike-pence-27.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Photo Sums Up How the Audience Felt About the Vice Presidential Debate > 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=f1841cc9-9932-448d-a230-1d969ea4d1a4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Oct 5, 2016 2:51 AM UTC  The audience watches Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Tim Kaine debate during the vice presidential debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Va. on Oct. 4, 2016. The audience watches Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Tim Kaine debate during the vice presidential debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Va. on Oct. 4, 2016. Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Oct 5, 2016 2:51 AM UTC Before the vice presidential debate began Tuesday, moderator Elaine Quijano reminded the crowd at Longwood University not to cheer. She didn’t need to. [Unlike at the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump](http://time.com/4508926/presidential-debate-clapping-trump-clinton/), the audience for the face-off between their running mates did not interrupt with cheers and applause at all. The 90-minute debate between Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine was a tense affair featuring a lot of interruptions and head-shaking. And, as this photo shows, it was not something worth cheering. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4518987/vice-presidential-debate-audience/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4518987/vice-presidential-debate-audience/"},"headline":"This Photo Sums Up How the Audience Felt About the Vice Presidential Debate","datePublished":"2016-10-05T02:51:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:31.827Z","description":"Before the vice presidential debate began, the moderator reminded the crowd at Longwood University not to cheer. 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