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VP Debate 2020: Pence slammed for 'mansplaining' as Harris claps back with 'I'll not be lectured by the VP'

Pence was trolled after he continuously interrupted Harris while also accusing her of being too hard on crime during her tenure as a law enforcement official

Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris slammed Vice President Mike Pence during Wednesday's, October 7, debate, telling the Republican that she will not be lectured by him over criminal justice reform. People on social media also backed the senator and accused Pence of "mansplaining".

Mansplaining, a pejorative term, means to explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident or oversimplified manner.

Harris, a top prosecutor in San Francisco and formerly the Attorney General of California, embraced her record as a prosecutor during the debate as Pence accused her of not doing enough on criminal justice reform. When the vice president accused Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Harris of being too soft on crime while simultaneously accusing the latter of also being too hard on crime during her tenure as a law enforcement official, the senator clapped back.

"I will not sit here and be lectured by the vice president on what it means to enforce the laws of our country," Harris said. She made the remarks shortly after Pence noted that she prosecuted trials on varying issues, ranging from child sexual assault to homicide.

Multiple social media users swarmed Twitter to point out how Pence was "mansplaining" throughout the debate, with one writing: "The @VP @Mike_Pence lost the #VPDebate if only because all I'm seeing on Twitter are memes and jokes about the fly on his head and him spending half the night mansplaining racism and law to @KamalaHarris, a former DA who is the child of a Black father and an Indian mother." Another wrote: "I don't think VP Pence’s mansplaining and over-talking is doing a lot to narrow the gender gap, unless it is also turning off more men as well." A third added: "I wonder how Mike Pence, mansplaining lies while cutting off Kamala Harris when it is her turn to speak, is going to play with voters? Hmmm."

A fourth wrote: "Has Pence realized he needs women voters? His lies, mansplaining, condescending interruptions are all too familiar with women. And not in a good way. #CondescendingA*****e." Another said: "Page is struggling to shut Pence up. He's now wildly over his time and fighting with her. She finally had to invoke the Debate Commission to get him to shut up. People don't understand how talking over women and mansplaining diminishes women? They just had a master class."

Harris, during the debate, also consistently rapped Pence for interrupting her statements multiple times, by saying: "Mr Vice President, please let me speak." The swipe was also reminiscent of the nature of the first 2020 presidential debate where President Donald Trump incessantly interrupted Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Shortly after Harris' remark, Trump took to Twitter on October 7 to take aim at the senator while the debate was ongoing by calling her a "gaffe machine". The Republican, meanwhile, appraised Pence's performance, saying he was doing "great". "Mike Pence is doing GREAT! She is a gaffe machine," Trump tweeted.

The president is currently infected with Covid-19 and has received criticism over his carelessness to maintain precautions.