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VP Debate 2020: Did Harris treat Pence like a child? Internet says ‘drag him sis’ after ‘I'm speaking’ comeback

'Mr Vice President, I'm speaking,' Harris repeatedly told her rival early on the debate night when she was interrupted

Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris came face-to-face in the first and only Vice Presidential Debate this year on Wednesday night, October 7, at the University of Utah's Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City. As the two spoke on a variety of topics ranging from coronavirus to climate change and the recent Black Lives Matter movement, one line reverberated throughout the 90-minute debacle. 

"Mr Vice President, I'm speaking," Harris repeatedly told her rival early on the debate night when she was interrupted. While the debate was much less chaotic than the one between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, the words "I'm speaking" echoed through the 90-minute debacle.

When Pence attempted to defend the White House administration's record on coronavirus, Harris shot back: "The American people have had to sacrifice far too much because of the incompetence of this administration."

Later on, when Pence tried to cut her off again, Harris retorted back with a stern look, "Mr Vice President, I'm speaking... I'm speaking." What's more, moderator Susan Page had to then give Harris an additional 15 seconds to finish her statement before Pence was able to respond again. At about 34 minutes into the debate, Harris again repeated, “Mr Vice President, I'm speaking," when he tried to butt in while she was speaking about taxes.

Soon, Twitter was abuzz with clips and jokes on how Harris told "I'm speaking" to Pence. Robert Costa shared a clip and wrote, "I'm speaking." One Twitter user posted, "When Kamala said 'IM SPEAKING' every single woman felt THAT," and another wrote, "Men really be too comfortable with talking over women so that 'Im speaking' was so epic."

One tweet read, “MR VICE PRESIDENT IM SPEAKING, IM SPEAKING!!!” Drag him Kamala!!!!!!" and another said, "Let me tell y’all how it lifts my spirits to see this brilliant black woman sit on this debate stage and tell this white man “IM SPEAKING”."

A user chimed in, "The fact that senator harris just said, 'excuse me Mr vice president I'm speaking'. I love to see women standing up for themselves. don't let that dumb white boy interrupt you ladies. what you have to say is important." One user added, "'Mr Vice President I’m speaking' DRAG HIM SIS #Debates2020."

Many also highlighted how Harris treated Pence like a child during the debate. "Kamala Harris speaking to Mike Pence like he’s a young child who doesn’t understand why he can’t eat a tide pod was the best part of the debate," one tweet read and another said, "I love how Kamala Harris treats Pence like a small child that doesn’t know shit... oh that’s right. cuz he is a small child who doesn’t know s**t."

But not everyone was pleased. "@KamalaHarris is so petty. She treats@Mike_Pence like a child just because she doesn’t like that he’s asking her about packing the Supreme Court. So disrespectful! & please, @KamalaHarris, answer the question!!" one Twitter user wrote. Another said, "I’m finding it kind of annoying the way Harris speaks down to Pence and treats him like a child." 

Catch the debate live on CNN and you can also stream it live in its entirety on CNN.com's homepage and across mobile devices via CNN's apps for iOS and Android and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV.