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Fly lands on Vice President Pence’s head during debate, distracting internet

A fly briefly lands on head of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in the vice presidential debate against Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris at the University of Utah on Oct. 7, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

There was briefly another participant swooping into Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate.

For several minutes, a fly landed in Vice President Mike Pence’s hair, not moving as he answered questions about racial injustice and whether justice has been done in the death of Breonna Taylor.

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Conversation about the fly briefly dominated corners of Twitter, where debate watchers discussed their distraction and inability to focus on Pence and California Sen. Kamala Harris' answers.

Some joked about the need to test the fly for the coronavirus, as it had skirted the Plexiglas partitions separating the candidates and moderator.

Wednesday night’s intruder wasn’t the first to take center stage at an election-year debate.

In 2016, a fly briefly landed between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s eyes during a town hall-style debate with now-President Donald Trump.


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