Despite key differences from the first presidential debate two weeks ago, one thing was the same after the first and only Vice Presidential debate: negative coverage.
Take a look at the media coverage from before and after the debate: Vice Presidential Debate: Before and After Headlines
The strong negative sentiment that dominated coverage following debate one carried over to coverage of the VP debate even before Senator Harris and Vice President Pence took the stage in Utah. Ticking up about ten-percent after their matchup. Contrasting to the first presidential debate that preceded it, where negative coverage shot up sixteen-percent after the fact.
Unsurprisingly, the top of the ticket dominated media coverage before and after the VP debate. Harris and Pence took third and fourth place respectively before the debate. That ranking flipped in coverage after the debate with Pence taking third place in mentions, perhaps something to do with his viral fly moment.
Overall, it would seem that both the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates didn’t leave an image of a shining city upon a hill in many minds. It might be a good thing there isn’t another one this Thursday.
