After nearly 18 months of campaigning, fundraising, and debating, the hard fought election has finally come to a conclusion with an incredibly controversial candidate emerging victorious. In a rather surprising turn of events, Republican candidate Donald Trump won the electoral vote by a very large margin, leading many to question how the media had so poorly predicted the results and so badly misrepresented the feelings of the people of the United States. Wins and losses present interesting rhetorical situations for both parties. Candidates must choose whether to handle themselves with dignity and class or with harsh criticisms of the system and the other parties. In this situation, both Mike Pence of the Republican Party and Democrat Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine both spoke with class and optimism for the future as they learned of the election outcome. Pence obviously had the easier of the two jobs as his party was celebrating victory but he chose to focus on themes that had run throughout the 2016 Presidential campaign: “Making America Great Again”, working Americans finally getting their say, and the importance of family and faith. Pence started by saying, “This is a historic night. The American people have spoken and the American people have elected their new champion.” On Pence’s behalf, this was a very strong rhetorical approach to take in speaking on Trump’s victory. In what some may call the most divisive election in our great country’s history, Pence focused on how Trump’s election was the doing of the people and now Trump and the Republican party were going to work for them. The rest of his speech he kept short and sweet, thanking God for “his amazing grace” and for the support of his family with whom he could not have survived this difficult year and a half without.

Kaine, on the other hand, had a much more difficult rhetorical situation on his hands. In the face of defeat, he had a choice to make as to what to say in his introduction of Clinton. While it angered many that Kaine and his Presidential counterpart did not speak last night, it was probably a strong move as it allowed the two candidates to not speak solely on emotion nor to party members and supporters who were hurting from the initial sting of the outcome. Kaine’s focus was on how proud he and his family were of Hillary Clinton and the history that had been made by having a female candidate run for President and win the popular vote of Americans. Kaine then took a subtle jab that may have been rooted in anger of their expected win, saying “She has made history in a nation that is so good in so many things, but has made it so uniquely difficult for a women to make it into a federal office…” While Kaine’s point does not lack validity, this was not the reason that the Democrats were giving Concession speeches. Overall, Kaine’s speech was very good as he thanked the Clinton’s for choosing him and his family, quoted scripture, and thanked the American people for their support. Even in the face of defeat, a bitter Kaine carried himself with class.

Overall, the two Vice Presidential candidates carried themselves with class and dignity on this final day of the Presidential election in the same fashion as they have this entire campaign. Both Tim Kaine and Mike Pence have played and will continue to play strong rhetorical positions when it comes to supporting their Presidential counterparts and their respective parties.

To watch either Pence’s or Kaine’s speech, click on their names and you will be directed to a website where you can watch and learn more surrounding the two speeches and candidates.

As November 8th rapidly approaches, candidates and their respective parties are making strong, last minute pushes in certain battleground states trying to ensure the victory of their candidate. Both Mike Pence and Tim Kaine have been very active and in the spotlight the last few days, traveling from speech location to speech location to potentially influence on-the-fence voters who have not yet cast their vote.  Kaine and Pence both were set to be in Iowa this week, trying to win a swing state that has generally predicted the election over the last few decades. It was in this state on November 1st when these two candidates were set to speak and meet with community members that an interesting rhetorical situation presented itself. On the morning of November 1st, two Des Moines police officers were ambushed and shot in the their police cars, dying instantly. Both candidates were set to speak just hours later in the same city. As Tim Kaine and Democrats quickly canceled their speech and visits that day, Mike Pence rushed through a speech so that he could go and visit the slain officers memorials and be with community members who were hurting. Pence was quick to approach the chief of Police, saying “The whole nation is thinking of you. How are the families doing?”

This was a strong rhetorical move by Pence and the Republican Party as he showed himself as the strong, supportive leader that this country seems to need in days like these where police shootings and shootings of police are becoming more and more common. On the other hand, it was an equally powerful rhetorical move by Kaine and the Democratic Party as they got to use this issue as a talking point to further their campaign. While some voters may be upset that Kaine was so quick to cancel his speech and flee from the frontlines of Des Moines unlike Pence, he did take time to speak with Time Magazine about the “public health crisis” that is gun violence. While it may seem a little distasteful to use such a recent event to further one’s agenda, Kaine focused mainly on past events, touching on the shootings at Virginia Tech and other historical shooters while saying that he is a proud gun owner and 2nd Amendment supporter but that these issues needed to be addressed and they needed to be addressed now.

Kaine and Pence took two very different rhetorical approaches in addressing the shootings in Des Moines. While Pence made himself present and was supportive to the community in the spotlight, Kaine was supportive from a distance but presented solutions to the issue at hand. While both moves were strong in their own regard, it will be interesting to see if it has any effect on voters as we get closer and closer to November 8th.

In another relatively slow week in the rhetoric of Vice Presidential candidates, mainly because of well-behaved Presidential counterparts, Mike Pence and Tim Kaine have spent little time in the media spotlight. While both Vice Presidential candidates have spent time traveling and leading rallies in important states for both of their respective campaigns, little time has been spent trying to defend Donald Trump or prove Hilary Clinton’s legitimacy. This has given the two VP candidates time to address alliances within their parties, focus on issues central to their campaigns, and speak to the significance of their Presidential counterpart moving into the White House next.

In an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, Tim Kaine came to the somewhat-comical realization that he will have a female boss for the first time in his career. The idea of having a female boss wasn’t what made him chuckle during his interview with Rachel Maddow but the fact that he was just now realizing that he could be working for his first and potentially the most powerful female “boss” in the history of the United States. “Wow, I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Kaine chuckled as he pondered the significance of what was happening within the Democratic Party. While humorous at first, Kaine’s rhetoric quickly switched to that of a more serious nature as he touched on a possible concern for many male voters from both parties—a woman’s ability to be President. Kaine is excited to run alongside Clinton as she attempts to become the first woman President, saying that his Vice Presidency would normalize the notion that “strong men should definitely support strong women.” This was a strong rhetorical move by Kaine as he fully backed the idea of himself supporting a strong woman and called other men to do the same.

As Kaine focused on the significance of his “boss”, Pence focused on personal friendships and friends of the Republican Party. As Trump makes more outlandish statements and has more allegations come out against him, prominent Republicans and party supporters have begun dropping their support of the Republican nominee. Over the last few days, Pence has repeated a phrase, a two-word call powerfully directed at the entire Republican party, “come home.” This rhetorical claim is incredibly impactful as it calls the entire Republican party to rally together over a sense of “home” or “oneness” that seems to be missing from the Republican party as of recent. As Pence talked about rallying together, he was quick to name-drop Speaker of the House Paul Ryan who has held Trump at “an arm’s length” the entire campaign, and how they have been friends for over 15 years. Not only have they been friends and associates, but Pence was quick to say that Ryan and his team will be in support of Trump and Pence and getting the Republican Party back into the White House.

Overall, it was a relatively slow week in the dialogue and rhetoric of Vice Presidential candidates but this down period nearing election day allowed for the two VP candidates to speak on the significance of their Presidential counterpart potentially taking office, party friendships, and rallying together in order to find success as November 8^th quickly approaches.

In what has been a seemingly boring week in the October race for the Presidential election, neither of the two candidates have had to do much work to cover for their Presidential counterpart or present their plans on important issues that may be potentially debated in the final debate this Wednesday evening. Following a week of sexual assault allegations, Republican Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence is probably very thankful for a relatively slow week while Democrat nominee Tim Kaine has had to do little “attack” work on Trump and the Republican party thanks to the continuous number of women coming forward with allegations. In saying that, the two have been able to address issues specifically regarding their campaigns and plans for the future, finally providing some insight to voters on where these candidates stand and how they could potentially represent our country. Kaine has spent the last couple of days in Detroit delivering his plan on how to fight poverty while highlighting his own background to explain why he sees confronting poverty as a “moral responsibility“. This was important for two reasons: first, because it gave insight into some of Kaine’s policy ideas and potential plans for improvement and second, because it finally gave voters insight into who Kaine actually is as an individual and as an American and why he views poverty the way he does. After the first Vice Presidential debate, little could be said of either of the two candidates as both parties attacked and defended their respective Presidential counterpart, leading to voters knowing almost nothing personally of the two VP candidates. This speech, while not huge or incredibly noteworthy, at the very least allowed voters to peer a little more into the background of Kaine and made him a little more human and vote-worthy to the average American. Pence, while not having to defend Trump and his sexual assault allegations, did have another adverse situation facing him and the Republican party this week. Early Sunday morning, a GOP office in Hillsborough, North Carolina was firebombed and burned to the ground. On Tuesday, Pence visited the charred remains of the office and delivered a speech, saying “I wanted to come by to call attention to this cowardly attack on our supporters in North Carolina and to no less extent an attack on the American political system. This was an act of political terrorism.” This cowardly act of arson allowed Pence to do two things. One, it presented him with a very easy opportunity to attack the Democrat Party and label them as “cowards” and “arsons” and two, it gave him a chance to encourage and praise Republican supporters for the way they have rallied around the community and around one another.

Overall, this was a very slow week for both Vice Presidential candidates but it did allow the two nominees to encourage their respective parties while also allowing viewers to finally begin to see who the two candidates are on a more personal, intimate level.

It has been an interesting week in politics to say the least, even for this wacky Presidential race. The first major “October surprise” reared its ugly head this week and it did so in a very damning way. On Wednesday, video emerged of a conversation between Billy Bush and Donald Trump from 11 years ago objectifying women and bragging how fame and power has allowed him to do whatever he pleases with women. These statements caused many prominent Republicans to pull support from the man who was seemingly boasting about sexual assault. While old, these statements put his running mate, Mike Pence, in a very difficult situation and rumors quickly began to spread of the VP candidate dropping off the Republican ticket. Rumors only further spread as Pence issued an unprecedented critical statement at a Wisconsin rally, saying that he “does not condone his (Trump’s) remarks and cannot defend him.” The nerves of Republican party supporters were finally eased when Pence came to Trump’s defense at a Charlotte rally and reaffirmed that he would continue running alongside the Presidential candidate. He still did not support the nominee’s comment, but instead, focused on a value that is held near and dear to Republican voters—religion. Pence said, “My faith informs me we’re to hold up a Godly standard…while I don’t condone what was said, the other part of my faith is grace…We’re called to forgive as we’ve been forgiven.” In a very strong rhetorical move, Pence threw the average American voter into Trump’s situation, reminding us of the times we’ve made mistakes and then been forgiven, and then Pence asks those voters to forgive Trump in that same way. For weeks now, Pence has followed in the wake of Trump, gracefully winning back voters that may be discouraged or turned off by Trump’s antics and it has Republicans at all levels wishing it was Pence at the top of the Republican ticket. One final rhetorically strong move by Pence in the past week was a move the Clinton’s took when appearing on a 60 Minutes Interview during Bill Clinton’s sex scandals. Pence says, “It takes a big man to know when he’s wrong. And to admit it…And Donald Trump, last night, showed that he’s a big man.” Pence is trying to draw attention to a “strength” of Trump as to how he can identify when he has made a mistake and own up to said mistake, something Hillary has done little of during her campaign. While it may ultimately be an unforgiveable comment to the American people, Pence has taken a dire situation and made it a little more hopeful for Republican supporters through persuasive and supportive rhetoric.

24 hours have passed since Pence and Kaine “battled” it out in front of nearly 37.2 million Americans–the smallest VP debate audience since 2000– and now we, as Americans, can sit back and reflect on who was more rhetorically successful in reaching both the target audience and a much larger secondary audience. As someone who watched this debate and the first Presidential debate, it was near comical as to how opposite the Vice Presidential candidates appeared to their Presidential counterparts. As I watched the first debate, the arrogance Trump displayed could be summed up by interruptions, eye rolls, and uninterested facial expressions. Ironically, these would all be words I would use to sum up the way Kaine carried himself in the first VP debate. Kaine spent the entire debate attacking Pence on Trump’s sayings and insults of the past and focused little on tackling the issues or questions at hand. CNN writer Eric Bradner described the debate best when he wrote, “Mike Pence put a calmer, gentler face on the 2016 Republican ticket. And Kaine’s pestering style helped him do it.” While Kaine’s rhetorical approach may have been the least appealing of the two, Pence had flaws in the substance of his answers that conflicted with the Republican Presidential nominee that may reappear down the road. The Vice Presidential nominee took noticeably different stances on Russia and Syria than Trump has taken over the last few months and he recanted personal statements made about Putin in earlier debates and discussions. By breaking down the debate line-by-line, major flaws arise from some of the positions Pence took in relation to those taken by his running mate but, as noted by CNN, voters make their judgments on winners and losers of the debate based on the candidate’s tone and overall performance so Pence and the Republican party likely lost little ground by these differences between President and Vice President.

Overall, there was no clear winner or loser in the debate between the two Vice Presidential candidates. Both candidates emerged from the debate with minor rhetorical victories but there were also concerns, both with style and with substance, that need to be addressed before the second Vice Presidential debate if Independent and discouraged voters from both parties hope to have any more clarity when it comes time to vote in November.