KAINE, PENCE FACE OFF AT DEBATE
FARMVILLE, VA. • Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine on Tuesday night aggressively challenged Donald Trump’s qualifications for the U.S. presidency, casting him as a “me-first” mogul who won’t level with Americans about his business record.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence lashed back with criticism of Hillary Clinton but didn’t dispute that running mate Trump hadn’t paid federal taxes for years.
Kaine and Pence, who have received little attention in a race focused on the top two candidates, faced off for 90 minutes in the only vicepresidential debate of the campaign.
With the close White House race perhaps starting to tip in Clinton’s favour, Pence outlined a detailed conservative agenda on tax policy, entitlements and immigration. He was strikingly more prepared and more detailed in his answers than Trump was in last week’s first presidential debate. He was also more consistent in painting the Democratic ticket as career politicians unwilling to shake up Washington.
“Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine want more of the same,” Pence said.
There was a striking difference in the two men’s manner. Kaine, Clinton’s usually easygoing No. 2, went on the attack from the start, repeatedly interrupting and challenging Pence. Pence, an equally genial politician, was unflappable.
Kaine pressured Pence to answer for some of his running mate’s provocative statements, using Trump’s own words such as dismissing some women as pigs or slobs. He also challenged Pence on Trump’s decision to break with decades of campaign tradition by not releasing his taxes.
“Donald Trump must give the American public his tax returns to show he’s prepared to be president, and he’s breaking his promise,” Kaine said.
Asked about reports that Trump might not have paid any federal taxes for years, Pence said his running mate “used the tax code just the way it’s supposed to be used, and he did it brilliantly.”
Kaine, too, defended his running mate’s weaknesses, chiefly the public’s questions about her honesty and trustworthiness. He said that while Trump was “selfish,” Clinton had devoted her career to helping children and families.
On national security, Kaine revived Trump’s frequently flattering comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pence tried to flip the tables by accusing Kaine’s running mate of stoking Russia’s belligerence.
“The weak and feckless foreign policy of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has awaked an aggression in Russia that first appeared in Russia a few years ago,” Pence said. “All the while, all we do is fold our arms and say we’re not having talks anymore.”