http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/299342-trump-wins-momentum-boost-from-pence-with-kaine-assistBy Niall Stanage | October 05, 2016, 12:09 am
Donald Trump got help from an unexpected quarter on Tuesday night as Hillary Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, delivered an uneven performance in the year's sole vice presidential debate.
Stylistically at least, Trump's vice presidential nominee, Mike Pence, was the clear winner of the encounter, held at Longwood University in Farmville, Va. His superiority was especially clear in the early stages. Pence was steady and controlled in those crucial moments while Kaine interrupted and appeared overly aggressive, even to independent observers.
Pence defended his running mate's more controversial statements where he could and danced away from other issues with a shake of his head.
Some of those dissenting gestures could become problematic later; Pence appeared to deny things that Trump had, in fact, done or said, such as praising Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Overall, however, Pence showed the kind of focus that was widely felt to be lacking in Trump's own performance in his first clash with Clinton last week.
Pence's apparent victory is unlikely to change the trajectory of the race in a fundamental way. But it does at least turn the page after a miserable period for Trump. Now, much will hinge on the second Trump-Clinton bout, which takes place Sunday in St. Louis.
Trump's poll numbers have fallen over the eight days since his first presidential debate, a period also marked by a feud with a former Miss Universe and a damaging New York Times exposé of his tax affairs.
But before that first debate, Trump had almost erased a once-comfortable Clinton lead. Given the unprecedented nature of this year’s campaign, it’s possible that the race has a twist or two more still to come.
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