Kathmandu. The US Vice-Presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris on Wednesday, was eyed by experts for details on issues ranging from Donald Trump’s taxes to climate change. However, the social media was set in a complete frenzy when a fly perched on top of Pence’s head for several minutes, leading to numerous memes being created out of the stills from the video.

Late night show hosts formed entire segments on the hilarity caused by the incident. Stephen Colbert jibed, “listen, listen, all jokes aside, thoughts and prayers to that fly’s family,” adding that “It’s gotta quarantine for two weeks now. We’ve got to get that fly to Walter Reed.” The Democratic candidate, Joe Biden utilized this opportunity to post a sly tweet stating, “Pitch in $5 to help this campaign fly,” attaching a picture of him with a sideway smirk, holding a fly swatter in his hand. The Biden campaign website immediately launched and has since then been marketing a $10 fly swatter that reads “Truth over flies” on its handle.

The Conversation, following the media explosion on the subject, regarded the situation in a mockingly serious piece about the symbolic portrayal of flies across the history of art. Particularly, the article noted that according to the Renaissance belief, flies represented a state of decay, impermanence, and general unpleasantness. The piece cheekily concluded that the less than shining performance of the current administration may have led to the hilarity and thrill experienced by numerous people on several platforms.

Regardless of the poignant deliberations of many, the reality has been that the fly may have possibly garnered more attention than the candidates during the debate. Whatever it may mean for the charisma of the said candidates, the fly swatters are a big hit. It sold out within a few hours of the advertisement being published online, and is still out of stock, with almost 35,000 swatters being bought in 24 hours.

Other than that, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) chimed in commenting that, “We guess it’s a tradition! Just as PETA sent humane bug catchers to candidate Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama after their televised insect encounters, we’re sending one fresh from the PETA Mall to Joe Biden in the hope that his team will market these cruelty-free contraptions to kindhearted Americans, rather than taking their frustrations out on insects.”

The social media has always been a potent tool to guide the voter’s hand when casting their picks at the ballot. The fly may have given the democrats room to engage in witty quips with the republicans, however, the future of the presidential elections rests on less humorous issues. With Trump currently recovering from COVID-19 and Biden leading in the polls, the future of the US Presidency hangs on a delicate balance.