
The Fly Was the True Winner of the VP Debate
By Matt Moen
Oct 08, 2020The American public learned a lot about the vice presidential candidates in last night's debate. They learned that both candidates love fracking, questions and time limits are really more of a suggestion than a hard-and-fast rule, Kamala Harris is not to be interrupted when she's speaking and — wait a minute. Did a fly just land on Mike Pence's head? Oh my god, a fly totally just landed on Mike Pence's head!
Perfectly silhouetted against the almost unnaturally smooth white expanse of hair, there was no doubt that the clear breakout star of last night's debate was the big black fly that decided to rest its weary wings on Mike Pence's dome towards the end of the night. It was a rare moment of mundane excitement — and what is perhaps most revealing about the current level of public enthusiasm for American politics — in an objectively terrible year.
It was refreshing to see the internet collectively perk up and point out the insect casually chilling out for roughly two whole minutes on Pence's head. In that moment, a star was born and a deluge of memes was unleashed. Thousands of parody accounts instantly popped up on Twitter; within 10 minutes the Biden campaign had posted a picture of the former Vice President holding a fly swatter, registered the domain name flywillvote.com and started selling "Truth Over Flies" fly swatters. Rumor has it Jeff Goldblum is already being tapped to play the fly in an upcoming dramatic miniseries based on the 2020 election, too.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what made the fly so compelling. Perhaps it was Pence's obliviousness to the fly's extended stay, the ideological purity of the gesture that somehow spoke volumes or maybe it was that fact that we've been shut inside for so long now that seeing a fly land on man's unwitting head is a welcome distraction from the grim and depressing reality that lies just outside our doors. Either way, we can all agree that the fly was great, a true folk hero, a national treasure and the real winner of the debate.
Photo via Getty/ Eric BARADAT/ AFP
MORE ON PAPER
Film/TV
'Overcompensating' Hits Where It Heals
Story by Joan Summers / Photography by Kenyon Anderson / Styling by Marissa Pelly / Set design by Liz Mydlowski / Makeup by Rommy Najor, Mollie Gloss / Hair by Akihisa Yamaguchi, Sergio Estrada / Grooming by Kennedy Trisler
Story by Joan Summers / Photography by Kenyon Anderson / Styling by Marissa Pelly / Set design by Liz Mydlowski / Makeup by Rommy Najor, Mollie Gloss / Hair by Akihisa Yamaguchi, Sergio Estrada / Grooming by Kennedy Trisler
05 June
Entertainment
The 2025 Tonys: 'Give It Everything Or Die Trying'
Story by Michael Musto / Photography by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders / Jewelry by Alexis Bittar
Story by Michael Musto / Photography by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders / Jewelry by Alexis Bittar
05 June
Film/TV
Coolest Person in the Room: Stephanie Suganami
Story by Andrew Nguyen / Photography by Diego Villagra Motta / Styling by Angelina Cantú / Hair by Stefano Greco / Makeup by STOJ
Story by Andrew Nguyen / Photography by Diego Villagra Motta / Styling by Angelina Cantú / Hair by Stefano Greco / Makeup by STOJ
30 May
Music
Tate McRae, Pop in Motion
Story by Ivan Guzman / Photography by Greg Swales / Styling by Chloe and Chanelle / Makeup by Lilly Keys / Hair by Chad Wood / Nails by Juan Alvear / Props by Lucy Holt / Extras: Faux Real
Story by Ivan Guzman / Photography by Greg Swales / Styling by Chloe and Chanelle / Makeup by Lilly Keys / Hair by Chad Wood / Nails by Juan Alvear / Props by Lucy Holt / Extras: Faux Real
14 May
Music
PinkPantheress Locks In
Story by Erica Campbell / Photography by Reto Schmid / Styling by Max Weinstein / Makeup by Julian Stoller / Hair by Anoushka / Nails by Juan Alvear / Set design by Milena Gorum
Story by Erica Campbell / Photography by Reto Schmid / Styling by Max Weinstein / Makeup by Julian Stoller / Hair by Anoushka / Nails by Juan Alvear / Set design by Milena Gorum
12 May