A Fly in Mike Pence's Hair Is the VP Debate's Silliest (and Strangest) Moment

Pence had no reaction

There's the cliché about a "fly on the wall" — and then there's what happened at Wednesday's vice-presidential debate.

Near the end of the event, featuring Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, a fly landed in Pence's hair for several minutes as he answered questions and responded to Democratic nominee Joe Biden's running mate.

How the fly — or perhaps some other kind of bug, though it seemed clear enough what it was from the TV screen — came to be in Pence's hair was unclear. It's not the first time bugs and other things have ended up on politicians during debates, however.

Pence had no reaction to the fly in his hair. But Twitter certainly did, particularly those viewers who were no fans of his to begin with.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who racked up Emmys for her star turn in HBO's satire Veep, about the White House, wrote on Instagram that "I really wish we had thought of this on @veephbo - who is controlling that fly?"

A fly lands in Vice President Mike Pence's hair at Wednesday's debate with Sen. Kamala Harris in Salt Lake City. ERIC BARADAT/Getty Images

From left: California Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence. Michael A. McCoy/Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty

"That fly is Mike Pence’s only black friend," another user wrote on Twitter.

A member of Biden's campaign staff simply tweeted a photo of Biden holding a fly-swatter.

A reporter wrote: "LET THE FLY SPEAK."

And, of course, there was the parody account.

Wednesday's vice-presidential debate — the only one of this campaign cycle — included increased protections agains the novel coronavirus following President Donald Trump's hospitalization with the illness.

Harris, 55, and Pence, 61, were separated by plexiglass as they sparred over the government's coronavirus response, the relationship with China, the Supreme Court, policing and race and other issues.