The tricks that vice-presidential candidates Trump and Clinton use to assist their 'commander'

The live debate between the two US vice presidential candidates is expected to be a stage for them to defend and protect their superiors.

Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence. Photo: AP.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Senator Tim Kaine will face off in Farmville, Virginia, in the only vice presidential debate of the election.

The debate, which begins at 9 p.m. on October 4 (8 a.m. on October 5 Vietnam time) at Longwood University, could shed light on whether the vice presidential candidate is qualified. In addition, the vice presidential candidate also has the task of protecting his or her "boss" - a particularly important job in the final stages of the race.

Defend

Both vice presidential candidates, Mr. Kaine, 58, and Mr. Pence, 57, are not prominent or well-known to the public.For Mike Pence, his main challenge is to defend Donald Trump, who has repeatedly made controversial statements, while also presenting himself as a calm, rational person who can help rebuild the party whether Trump wins or loses.

Indeed, since being selected as Trump’s running mate, much of Pence’s work has been to explain or correct Trump’s statements. However, he has distanced himself from Trump in some key instances, such as emphasizing the role humans play in climate change—an issue Trump has shown little interest in.

"He's going to have to explain Trump's actions to people, and his job is to clean up any mistakes Trump makes, and present Trump as a good person and not crazy," said John Feehery, a Republican strategist.

Meanwhile, the NYTimes assessed the task of Mr. Kaine - a lawyer who graduated from Harvard University, as simpler.Mr. Kaine has faced some tough questions about Mrs. Clinton on topics like her use of private email and her trustworthiness, but he has not been forced to do the same “cleanup” work as Mr. Pence.

"His job is easier than Mike Pence's," said Mo Elleithee, who served as an aide to Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. "I think Kaine really has a similar worldview to Hillary Clinton."

"I think Mr. Kaine will focus on many of the same themes that Mrs. Clinton emphasized in the last debate," Mr. Elleithee said.

Hillary Clinton and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine. Photo: Reuters.

Strike

According to USA Today, Mr. Pence is likely to focus more on attacking Mrs. Clinton's weaknesses than Mr. Trump's, such as her use of personal email while serving as US Secretary of State, her comment that half of Mr. Trump's supporters are "deplorable" and her accusation that the Clinton Foundation condones money-for-power transactions.

"Donald Trump missed a key opportunity to bring those issues into the first debate, and now Pence is the spearhead to attack Hillary Clinton's record," said Mercedes Schlapp, a communications aide to former President George W. Bush. "Trump had a bad week that took some of his momentum and energy, and Pence has an opportunity to restore that," he said, referring to the billionaire's spat with the former Miss Universe, and the new media revelations about his tax affairs.

Suffolk University pollster David Paleologos said Pence must attack on three fronts. He needs to turn every debate question into a referendum on Clinton’s credibility, win back voters lost to liberal candidates in key states, and aggressively court supporters of Clinton’s Democratic primary opponent, Bernard Sanders.

Meanwhile, "Kaine needs to focus on three issues: continuing to take aim at Trump on the tax issue," Paleologos said. "Kaine needs to vigorously defend Clinton against any attacks to reassure undecided voters, and win over Sanders supporters based on their shared views on a number of social issues that are in opposition to Trump."

Experts say Mr Pence is calm and well-prepared – the opposite of Mr Trump’s impulsive personality. While he has shown himself to be a loyal soldier, he may also express some dissent to Mr Trump to defend himself.

Clinton aides say they plan to exploit any disagreements that may emerge between Mr Pence and Mr Trump.

Mr. Trump is a man who values ​​loyalty above all else, but Rudolph W. Giuliani, a close adviser to the billionaire, believes that Mr. Trump will support Mr. Pence no matter what.

“Every time Trump watches Pence on TV, he says, ‘I picked the right guy,’” Giuliani said. “You don’t have to defend your boss all the time. A few disagreements are fine.”

According to VNE