Politics

Rogue fly creates social media buzz during vice presidential debate

For several minutes, a fly landed in Vice President Mike Pence’s hair.

A fly rests on the head of Vice President Mike Pence as he takes notes during the vice presidential debate against US Democratic vice presidential nominee and Senator from California Kamala Harris in Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah on October 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Photo by ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images

By The Associated Press

1 minute to read

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There was briefly another participant swooping into Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate.

For several minutes, a fly landed in Vice President Mike Pence’s hair, not moving as he answered questions about racial injustice and whether justice has been done in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Conversation about the fly briefly dominated corners of Twitter, where debate watchers discussed their distraction and inability to focus on Pence and California Sen. Kamala Harris’ answers. Some joked about the need to test the fly for the coronavirus, as it had skirted the plexiglass partitions separating the candidates and moderator.

Wednesday night’s intruder wasn’t the first to take center stage at an election year debate. In 2016, a fly briefly landed between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s eyes during a town hall-style debate with now-President Donald Trump.

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