Pretty fly for a white guy: insect on Mike Pence's head upstages vice-president

Ahead of Wednesday’s vice-presidential debate, the buzz was around whether Kamala Harris or Mike Pence would turn in a standout performance.

Instead, the unexpected star of the show was a fly, which landed on Pence’s head and sat there, seemingly carefree, for a full two minutes.

The unnamed fly prompted much commentary online, and the word “flies” began trending on Twitter. Some pointed out that flies, according to conventional wisdom, are drawn to feces.

It wasn’t long before the fly had its own Twitter account – Mike Pence’s Fly.

During her debate prep Harris and her team were aware of the double standard women in power are subjected to compared with men – including increased scrutiny over how women look.

But it was Pence’s appearance which drew more attention.

Setting aside the issue of the vice-president having a fly on his head, people also pointed to the condition of his left eye.

Numerous viewers spotted that Pence’s left eye had a distinctly pinky-red tone, prompting widespread discussion about pink eye.

Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, can be a symptom of coronavirus. Pence tested negative for Covid-19 ahead of the debate – dozens of Donald Trump’s other contacts were not so lucky.

With commendable speed, the Biden-Harris campaign seized on the fly issue: Biden tweeted a fly-related fundraising ask (“Pitch in $5 to help this campaign fly”), and “flywillvote.com” which redirected to a website where Americans can register to vote.