Republican presidential hopeful Mike Pence’s attempt at getting laughs from the audience mainly fell flat during Wednesday’s second GOP presidential debate.
Pence made two attempted one-liners about the U.S. economy and education and expected a large audience reaction, but he was met instead with weak applause – and some groans.
The first attempted one-liner was in reference to a question about the U.S. economy.
“Joe Biden doesn’t belong on a picket line, he belongs on the unemployment line,” Pence said.
Save for a few claps and cheers, the line was met with silence.
The other one-liner was in reference to school choice and the teachers union. Pence made the remark after Chris Christie said that Biden is “sleeping with a member of the teachers union,” in reference to First Lady Jill Biden‘s membership to the National Education Association.
Pence then responded, “Because by way of full disclosure, Chris, you mentioned the president’s situation. My wife isn’t a member of the teachers union. But I’ve got to admit I’ve been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years and um, full disclosure.”
Similar to the first joke, the audience response was more groans than cheers.
Wednesday’s debate featured all seven candidates fighting for the nomination. Frontrunner Donald Trump notably didn’t attend, electing to address Michigan-based autoworkers at a campaign rally.
