--- title: Vice Presidential Debate: Web Loved 'That Mexican Thing' description: Once again, a poorly worded phrase at a debate took on a life of its own online. canonical: https://time.com/4519044/vice-presidential-debate-mexican-thing/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-05T04:11:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:49:24.975Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'That Mexican Thing' Took on a Life of Its Own Online og:description: A phrase from Indiana Gov. Mike Pence at the debate. og:url: https://time.com/4519044/vice-presidential-debate-mexican-thing/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt14f6dfc951e168ba/6988a8b097cdff40886ae08f/vice-presidential-debate-tim-kaine-mike-pence-12.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: TIMEPOL Debate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'That Mexican Thing' Took on a Life of Its Own Online twitter:description: A phrase from Indiana Gov. Mike Pence at the debate. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt14f6dfc951e168ba/6988a8b097cdff40886ae08f/vice-presidential-debate-tim-kaine-mike-pence-12.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'That Mexican Thing' Took on a Life of Its Own Online > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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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=625eb917-a5cc-4d4c-9a26-44dfa3bbbd2a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch The Top Mike Pence VS Tim Kaine Debate Moments [Watch (HLS stream): Watch The Top Mike Pence VS Tim Kaine Debate Moments](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XGIAbp2O.m3u8) (1:56)  _Published 2016-10-05. Vice Presidential candidates Mike Pence and Tim Kaine face off in their first and last debate at Longwood University in Farmville, VA._ by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Oct 5, 2016 4:11 AM UTC Vice Presidential candidates Mike Pence and Tim Kaine face off in their first and last debate at Longwood University in Farmville, VA. by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Oct 5, 2016 4:11 AM UTC Once again, a poorly worded phrase at a debate took on a life of its own online. At Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine had again referenced [Donald Trump’s campaign launch](http://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech/), in which he said that Mexico was sending rapists to the U.S. “You whipped out that Mexican thing again,” Pence replied, peevishly. Reaction on Twitter was quick, especially among Latinos. The hashtag #thatmexicanthing soon filled with Clinton supporters and Trump critics. > [](https://twitter.com/AndieMarie888/status/783508565252243456) > [](https://twitter.com/TUSK81/status/783501815522340864) > [](https://twitter.com/senatorshoshana/status/783499312261165056) By the end of the debate, some anonymous wag had registered the website [thatMexicanthing.com](http://thatMexicanthing.com) and redirected it to Hillary Clinton’s website. The moment was the third most tweeted moment on Twitter, behind the two vice presidential nominees discussing Russian President Vladimir Putin and the global use of nuclear weapons. Overall, the Republican ticket far outstripped the two Democrats in share of the conversation online, on both Facebook and Twitter—[meaning more people were talking about them](http://time.com/4229252/google-twitter-presidential-elections-predictions-analysis/), negative or positive. ## Transcript [00:00] [ APPLAUSE ] [00:03] [ INAUDIBLE ] [00:06] First off, thank you to [ UNKNOWN ] and thank you to [00:10] Norwood University for their wonderful hospitality. [00:12] Donald Trump started his campaign in 2014. He said, [00:14] if I run for president I will absolutely release my taxes. [00:18] He's broken his first promise. And he will. He's broken [00:20] his first promise. At the risk of Agreeing [00:24] with you. Community policing is a great idea. It's [00:28] worked well in the Hoosier state and we fully support [00:31] that. If you want to have a society where people are [00:34] respected and respect laws, you can't have somebody [00:37] at the top Who demeans every group that he talks [00:40] about. And again I cannot believe that governor Pence [00:44] will defend the insult driven campaign that Donald [00:47] Trump has run. Insult driven campaign, I mean that's [00:51] small potatoes compared to Hillary Clinton calling half [00:54] of Donald Trump's supporters a basked of [00:56] deplorables. He's got kind of a personal Mount [00:58] Rushmore. Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong- un. Please. [01:01] Muammar Gadaffi- Come on. And Saddam Hussein. [01:05] You whipped out that Mexican thing again. Donald [01:07] Trump and I would never support legislation that [01:11] punished women who made the heartbreaking choice [01:14] to end a pregnancy. Then why did Donald Trump say [01:15] that? We just never would. Why did he say that? Well, [01:17] look, he's not a polished politician like you and Hillary [01:22] Clinton. This is the difference between a foundation [01:24] that does Good work and a secretary of state who [01:27] acted in accordance with American interest and [01:30] somebody who is conflicted in doing work around the [01:32] world and won't share with the American public what [01:35] he's doing and what those conflicts are. Governor, I will [01:37] give you 30 seconds to respond because I know you [01:40] want to but again, I would remind you both, this was [01:41] about North Korea. [ LAUGH ] [01:46] Thank you. From Farmville, Virginian, I'm Elaine [01:48] Quijano of CBS News. Goodnight. 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