Near the end of the debate, the topic of democracy came up. Specifically, Trump's refusal to acknowledge that he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. Vance was asked if he would challenge the results of the election. He danced around the topic and then was challenged by Walz, who brought up the Jan. 6 insurrection. That led Vance to say at one point, "It's really rich for Democratic leaders to say that Donald Trump is a unique threat to democracy when he peacefully gave over power on January the 20th, as we have done for 250 years in this country." You could feel antennas going up all over the country, especially within the Harris campaign. You could almost hear the Harris camp saying, "Did Vance just say Trump peacefully gave over power after he lost the election?"
Perhaps the most famous moment in VP debate history was in 1988 when 41-year-old Republican Sen. Dan Quayle, defending his political experience, said, "I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency." Quayle's opponent, Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, said, "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." It might have been the biggest bodyslam in VP debate history.
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