Shock 'winner': Debate moment sparks internet explosion

Hundreds of thousands of people have agreed that a rogue fly that landed on Mike Pence’s head during the US Vice Presidential debate stole the very heated show.

Donald Trump’s VP squared off against presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate Senator Kamala Harris on Wednesday night (local time), during which the latter erupted as Pence tried to speak over her.

As tension between the two politicians grew, a fly suddenly appeared and landed on Pence’s white hair.

The insect sat there for several minutes during the match-up, distracting viewers who perhaps may have been looking for a break from all the talk of taxes and trade.

The interruption was so entertaining to viewers they took to social media to point out the intruder.

Within minutes, ‘The Fly’ began trending on Twitter and has since gained almost 600,000 tweets. It also has its own Twitter account with more thank 13k followers.

Thousands of people agreed the insect was the true winner of the debate.

“Someone please get the fly a Covid test,” one man joked, referencing the White House coronavirus cluster that saw Donald Trump and his wife infected.

“I saw the fly land on him and stay on him for 5 minutes lol. That whole systemic racism denial must've smelled a certain way to attract the fly!” a second man wrote.

“The fly was the star of the debate,” a woman said.

“Gee, what a surprise: Fox News says Pence won. MSNBC says Harris won. Twitter says the fly won,” another man Tweeted.

Even Biden joined in on the fun, Tweeting ‘flywillvote.com’ with a link attached to the US voter registration website.

He also posted a picture of himself with a fly swatter on Twitter, asking supporters to "Pitch in $5 to help this campaign fly."

Stephen Colbert, host of "The Late Show" on CBS, suggested that by remaining perched in Pence's hair for two minutes or so, the fly had a greater attention span than Trump himself.

‘She lost control’

Susan Page, the Washington bureau chief for USA Today, has been criticised for her handling of the debate as moderator.

She tried to keep Pence from exceeding his time by repeatedly saying "Thank you, Mr. Vice President".

That proved ineffectual, and after several instances Page admonished him.

"Vice President Pence, I did not create the rules for tonight," she said.

"I'm here to enforce them, giving roughly equal time to both of you, which is what I'm trying to do."

Both candidates ignored some of the questions. Page asked each candidate to talk about possible transfer of power if the president became incapacitated.

Neither candidate answered that, instead reverting to talking points.

She was criticised online, and by other writers.

“Page is a fine journalist, but she lost control of the debate and too often allowed Pence to interrupt and go over time limits. The presidential debate commission can't enforce its rules. Time for it to close up shop,” Jennifer Rubin with The Washington Post Tweeted.

Kamala Harris leads CNN polls

Opinions online over who won the vice presidential debate are as divided as the US appears to be about the upcoming election.

Senator Harris was deemed the winner in a CNN instant poll with 59 per cent, compared to Mr Pence’s 38 per cent.

“My scorecard shows a frantic attempt to land a knockout punch in the early rounds, then a lot of dull body shots. Both delivered some memorable lines....this was a time-limit draw. We've heard from all four candidates. Let's go vote,” John T Bennett, Washington Bureau Chief for The Independent said.

Opinion editors of USA Today were also divided on who came out on top, with some saying Pence proved he is “no slouch”, while others said only Senator Harris “was telling the truth”.

with AAP

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