Gov. Mike Pence faced off against Sen. Tim Kaine Tuesday night, and may have upstaged his running mate Donald Trump in the process.
Although Kaine's performance was well received by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and the rest of her campaign, Trump was less pleased with Pence's.
Tweeting:
Pence came across less as a running mate, and more as if he "was a GOP Senate candidate trying to say nice things about Trump to avoid inflaming Trump's myriad supporters but not wanting to be too closely tied to him," according to The Washington Post.
According to The Politico Caucus, four dozen Republican insiders thought Pence performed better than Trump in the debate.
"Not even close," said an Ohio Republican, all the respondents took the survey anonymously. "Is there anyone outside of the Trump family who isn't wishing we could flip the ticket? Mike Pence projects calm reassurance and strength and an ability to articulate a vision and policies Americans support. For the first time in months we heard a serious case for conservative principles."
Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway refuted rumors of the billionaire's dissatisfaction with his running mate, saying Trump was "excited" and "proud" after the debate.
"His last tweet last night was how excited he was, how proud of him he was. They talked last night. I talked to Mr. Trump during the debate several times," Conway said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"I think the one thing to remember is that, as Ronald Reagan always said, personnel is policy. And Donald Trump has promised as president to surround himself with the best people.
"You saw last night who the best people are. The first exercise in judgment in leadership by Donald J. Trump after he became the Republican nominee was his selection of his vice presidential running mate, and you see it was just a fantastic pick."
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