Analyzing the 2016 V.P. Debate Between Kaine and Pence
This is not Mike Pence’s first vice-presidential campaign debate. In 2016, he faced Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, Hillary Clinton’s running mate. It was a vigorous and contentious 90 minutes, and it gives a hint of what Mr. Pence might be like on Wednesday night when he debates Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate.
And a review of that 2016 matchup leaves no doubt that Mr. Pence knows the two things a vice-presidential candidate is supposed to do in a debate. The first is to defend the person at the top of your ticket, in this case President Trump. The second is to attack the person at the top of the opposing ticket: Mrs. Clinton in 2016, and Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020.
Mr. Kaine attacked Mr. Trump at every opportunity, and Mr. Pence was ready. He diligently defended his running mate. But typically, as was the case