Liberal MSNBC host Chris Matthews dubbed Republican Mike Pence the winner of the election’s only vice presidential debate.
Matthews said on Tuesday night, immediately after the debate was over, that GOP nominee Donald Trump’s running mate came across as a “grown-up” and credible on conservative issues.
“[O]verall, I think the winner tonight, in terms of the debate and what they were trying to accomplish, Pence,” said Matthews. “Because Pence really was solid. He looked like he had his head screwed on. And I think that’s going to look very important for Trump, who doesn’t often look like he has his head screwed on.”
He said, though, that Democrat Tim Kaine, vice presidential nominee for Hillary Clinton, didn’t fare as well.
“On the other hand, I thought at times, and I like the guy, Kaine — was a little bit, I don’t know what the right word is — a little desperate there, jumping in all the time, always trying to get his points in,” Matthews said.
“He didn’t wait his turn. Obviously, if he had just waited his turn, the back-and-forth nature of this type of event, he would have had his opportunity. I don’t know why he kept interrupting because with two people debating, the other guys gets the chance to speak, he couldn’t wait for that. I think that hurt him.”
Others watching the debate, hosted in Farmville, Va., at Longwood University, also noted that Kaine frequently interrupted Pence.
Olivier Knox, a politics reporter for Yahoo News, on Twitter said that Kaine seemed “over eager.”
Patrick Murray, director of Monmouth University’s respected Polling Institute, also on Twitter said Kaine was “coming off as the jerk dad who gives his kid’s little league coach a hard time.”
