For the second straight debate, Republican candidates attacked teacher unions as part of their plan for improving education, with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie again leading the charge, as he discussed dropping literacy scores in America.
Although the conversation pivoted away to other right-wing educational concerns, such as trans students and their right to privacy, when former Vice President Mike Pence got a chance to speak, he steered things back so he could land a zinger about his wife being a teacher.
“By way of full disclosure, my wife isn’t a member of the teacher’s union, but I’ve gotta admit, I’ve been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years,” Pence said, through a clearly pained grimace, as the devout Christian decided to crack an inappropriate joke on the national stage.
His difficulty in delivering even the most canned line—he had at least a month since the last debate—didn’t go unnoticed.
“You could tell it was hard for him to say,” wrote one X user.
The rest of the X timeline collectively gasped at the moment.
Pence went on to say he would ban kids from transitioning.
