Mike Pence’s joke falls flat: Trump’s vice president fails to laugh when he says Biden should be on the unemployment line rather than the picket line
Mike Pence was left red-faced at the second Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night as his attempted joke failed and the audience responded with confusion and silence.
The former vice president — who is currently fifth in the Republican polls behind Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy — tried to drum up support with a crude joke about Joe Biden’s visit to a union rally.
Biden on Tuesday became the first sitting president in U.S. history to visit a picket line.
He traveled to Detroit to show his support for striking auto workers.
Pence declared: “Joe Biden doesn’t belong on the picket lines – he belongs in the ranks of the unemployed.”
The crowd didn’t react.
Mike Pence declared on the debate stage on Wednesday: “Joe Biden doesn’t belong in a picket line – he belongs in the unemployment line.” The joke fell flat
Pence, who has a paltry 4.6 percent support in the FiveThirtyEight polling average, has often benefited from his years of experience as a talk radio host.
But despite a raised eyebrow, his delivery was disappointing and his attempt at flippant failure.
Like most of the other six on stage, Pence struggled to extricate himself from the chaotic fray during Wednesday’s debate.
Fox Business hosts struggled to contain the seven candidates, and the debate often ended in a shouting match that left viewers at home unable to hear what was being said.
The candidates did not respond to questions and immediately went into their own prepared answers, sounding robotic and repeating slogans.
Joe Biden is seen near Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday – becoming the first sitting president to appear on a picket line
The seven candidates seeking to challenge Donald Trump for the nomination are seen at the Reagan National Library in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday evening
Trump, who has a seemingly insurmountable lead over his Republican rivals, skipped Wednesday’s debate – the second consecutive absence he did not attend.
Chris Christie particularly targeted Trump for avoiding the debate. He said he was “afraid to stand on that stage and defend his reputation” – and referred to him as “Donald Duck”.
Even DeSantis, who was more conciliatory, took aim at Trump, declaring that the 77-year-old was “missing in action.”
Trump was in Detroit on Wednesday and gave his own speech to union members.