How Mike Pence Reacted To The Final Debate

Indiana governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence took a night off from the campaign trail to catch the third and final presidential debate live, choosing to cheer his running mate on from the audience at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. Pence congratulated Donald Trump, claiming he "won the debate hands down" in a tweet published Wednesday evening.

"Congrats to my running mate on a big win at tonight's final presidential debate!" Pence tweeted after the debate. While political analysts and pollsters were still debating which candidate had won the third presidential debate, Pence appeared confident that it was his running mate who had come out on top. "[Trump] won the debate hands down!" he tweeted.

While several Republican lawmakers are rushing to distance themselves from Trump, Pence's support for his running mate has appeared, at least publicly, to be unwavering. Pence opted to stand by Trump following the release of a tape in which Trump is heard making lewd and predatory remarks about women and congratulated him "on a big debate win" following the second presidential election Oct. 9 despite Trump's admission of a serious lack of communication (and agreement) on the GOP ticket regarding Syria that night.

Pence's steadfast support of Trump continued ahead of Wednesday's debate, with the Republican nominee for vice president echoing, among other things, many of Trump's recent points regarding voter fraud in pre-debate interviews with several media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. Pence expressed his belief Trump would win the election on Nov. 8. "He's really given voice to the frustrations and aspirations of the American people like no one in my lifetime since Ronald Reagan," Pence told CNN.

It was a busy day of debate previews for Pence, who told supporters the final debate between Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would focus on "bigger things" than Clinton's controversies during a rally in Durango, Colorado on Wednesday morning. "This election is about a lot bigger things than her small ethics," CBS reports Pence said, adding that issues like national security, the economy, and Supreme Court appointments "are going to be talked about tonight."

While Pence refrained from commenting about Trump or Clinton's performance during the debate his team did publish timely tweets emphasizing his running mate's stance on various issues brought up during the debate, including Trump's pro-life stance on abortion, criticism of Clinton's tax proposal, and a link to details of Trump's economic plan. As he has been all week, Pence was once again one of Trump's biggest cheerleaders following the final presidential debate.