10/08/2020 9:48 AM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 10/08/2020 9:48 AM
The
vice presidential debate
ahead
of the
elections
in the United States featured Plexiglas barriers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
But the defenses couldn't stop the night's most talked-about intruder:
a fly
that buzzed around the stage before landing and staying
on
Mike Pence's
head
.
The incident was not mentioned on stage, and both Pence and Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris continued to focus on the discussion of systemic racism in the court system.
But the cameras had a feast.
And the networks a festival.
When the black bug visibly settled on Pence's white hair, the firestorm on social media was immediate and intense.
Ultimately, the fly created more of a stir than almost anything else during the 90-minute long debate.
"That's not on your TV. It's in his head," MSNBC's Rachel Maddow tweeted. "The fly knows," tweeted Stephen King. Others joked about the possibility of the bug getting stuck in the hairspray.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden immediately joined the rally, tweeting a photo of himself with an
orange
fly swatter
and the caption "Put $ 5 to help this campaign fly."
Moments later, he tweeted again, this time highlighting “Flywillvote.com,” which led users to a website created for his campaign to help supporters make plans to vote.
Pitch in $ 5 to help this campaign fly.
https://t.co/CqHAId0j8t pic.twitter.com/NbkPl0a8HV
- Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 8, 2020
Pence had spent much of the night shaking his head in response to Harris's responses.
But the vice president did not seem to notice the arrival of the fly.
Despite its normal conversations and body movements, the hot stage lights, and virus-fighting barriers, the fly
was unfazed
.
He finally flew away on his own.
The ingenuity of the supporters of the electoral face-to-face was not far behind and one of the Twitter users published, in English and Spanish: "And the winner of the vice-presidential debate is ... LA MOSCA !!!".
It was not the first fly to take center stage in a presidential debate.
In 2016, one briefly landed between the eyes of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton during a town hall-style debate with now-President Donald Trump.
Clinton was unfazed.
The fly in Pence's white hair.
Photo: EFE
President Barack Obama, however, took action when faced with an on-air distraction while recording a television interview in 2009. Obama stopped speaking to
swat a
buzzing
fly
and tell it to "get out of here."
As interviewer John Harwood joked: "That's the most persistent fly I've ever seen."
Source: AP and EFE
ap
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