Here’s the thing: 2020 is hard and there hasn’t been a ton of joy to bring around smiles. People have been grasping for any little thing that brings them happiness and lightens the moment.
Which is part of the reason why when a fly landed on Vice President Mike Pence’s head during the vice presidential debate on Wednesday night, everyone buzzed about it.
Watch it come in for the landing:
This wasn’t just a short visit either. The little guy hung on for a while. (For about two minutes and two seconds. Yes we timed it, you’re welcome.)
If Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, or moderator Susan Page noticed, they did not say anything, but they were likely very focused on what Pence was actually saying.
It’s hard to separate the moment from Pence’s words: At the time, Pence was calling it an “insult” to law enforcement to presume that systemic racism and bias against Black people by police exist. The Trump Administration has repeatedly touted law and order instead of trying to empathize with the racial justice protests that have been widespread this year, even as that systemic racism has repeatedly been laid bare, including with the recent deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
A Twitter account named Mike Pence’s Fly had more than 78,000 followers on Twitter shortly after the debate ended. Its Twitter bio was “I’m a fly.”
And of course, there were many, many, many puns.
Thank you, fly, for helping the debate fly by.