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Topics and participation in the vice presidential debate (October 2016)

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See also: Vice presidential debate at Longwood University (October 4, 2016)



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This article analyzes the central themes of the vice presidential debate held on October 4, 2016, at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. The transcript prepared by The Washington Post was used to measure candidate participation and debate themes.[1] Footage from the debate was consulted where there were ambiguities in the text.

For comparison, see the analysis of the first presidential debate held on September 26, 2016, at Hofstra University.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Tim Kaine and Mike Pence both spoke approximately 7,800 words.
  • The vice presidential candidates were focused on the top of their rival's ticket: Kaine's most commonly spoken word was Trump (84) and Pence's was Clinton (62).
  • By a wide margin, Russia was the most frequently mentioned country with 47 references. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Osama bin Laden were the most commonly named public figures.

    • Participants

    Tim Kaine (D)

    Tim Kaine (D)
    Mike Pence (R)

    Mike Pence (R)

    Segments

    This debate featured 19 unique discussion segments covering the economy, criminal justice, national security, and the presidential candidates' characters. There were no opening or closing statements. These discussion segments were measured by any shift in the theme of a discussion prompted by the moderator, Elaine Quijano.

    1. Kaine's and Pence's preparation to be president
    2. Clinton's private email server and trustworthiness
    3. Trump's temperament
    4. National debt
    5. Trump's tax returns
    6. Social Security
    7. Law enforcement
    8. Criminal justice and racial bias
    9. Immigration reform and deportation
    10. ISIS and terrorism
    11. Domestic terrrorism
    12. Defense intelligence and cybersecurity
    13. Humanitarian crisis in Syria
    14. Establishing safe zones in Syria
    15. Russian aggression
    16. Putin and diplomatic relations
    17. North Korea and nuclear proliferation
    18. Personal faith, capital punishment, and abortion
    19. Unifying the country

    Recurring themes

    Although Russia was the subject of two discussion segments, the country and its leader, Vladimir Putin, were invoked in five other discussion segments. In total, there were eight countries mentioned more than five times: China, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Ukraine. The territory of Crimea was also mentioned seven times.

    Several world leaders and public figures were mentioned by name throughout the debate. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin were both referenced more than 20 times.

    The vice presidential candidates also frequently diverged from the theme of the discussion segment to attack their opponents. For example, Trump's tax returns were mentioned in 8 of the 19 discussion segments. Clinton's private email server was brought up in four discussion segments.

    Candidate analysis

    Word cloud of Tim Kaine's speech during the debate
    Tim Kaine (D)
    • Candidate: Tim Kaine (D)
    • Number of words: 7,807
    • Most commonly used words:
      • Trump: 84
      • Donald: 71
      • Hillary: 45
      • Governor: 38
      • Work: 38
    Word cloud of Mike Pence's speech during the debate
    Mike Pence (R)
    • Candidate: Mike Pence (R)
    • Number of words: 7,738
    • Most commonly used words:
      • Clinton: 62
      • Hillary: 51
      • Trump: 50
      • State: 50
      • Senate: 48

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The Washington Post, "The Mike Pence vs. Tim Kaine vice-presidential debate transcript, annotated," October 5, 2016
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