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Kaine, Pence clash on "insult-driven campaigns" in U.S. VP debate

Xinhua, October 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence clashed Tuesday night during the only vice presidential debate, accusing the other side of launching an insult-driven campaign.

"As a candidate, (Trump) started his campaign with a speech where he called Mexicans rapists and criminals and he has pursued the discredited and really outrageous lie that President Obama wasn't born in the United States," Kaine said once during the 90-minute debate held in Farmville, Virginia, recounting Trump's controversial remarks about immigrants, women, Muslims and a family of a fallen U.S. soldier.

"I can't imagine how Gov. Pence can defend the insult-driven, selfish, me-first style of Donald Trump," he said, as he repeatedly interrupted Pence and once called the Indiana governor "Trump's apprentice."

In an effort to turn the tables, Pence recounted Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's recent derogatory remarks about Trump's supporters.

"Ours is an insult-driven campaign? To be honest with you, if Donald Trump had said all the things he said in the way you said them, he still wouldn't have a fraction of the insults that Hillary Clinton leveled when she said that half of our supporters were a basket of deplorables," said Pence.

Trump first drew widespread criticism last June when he said in the presidential announcement speech that Mexico was sending "rapists" and drug dealers to the United States. Since then, he has repeatedly vowed to deport about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country if elected president.

In another outburst of emotional remarks, Trump called for a "total and complete" ban on Muslims entering the United States in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015.

Since then, the targets of Trump's verbal attacks have expanded to include women, African American protesters and family members of rivals. Endi