The first and only vice presidential debate was on Tuesday night and it certainly was two men sitting at a table yelling over each other, that's for sure.
In the course of the whole...thing, Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence quoted what he said was an old proverb about Russia.
But there's basically no examples of that phrase popping up anywhere on the Internet in a search for the term.
And people who actually know about Russia were perplexed as to where the hell the phrase came from.
Mike Pence recalls an "old proverb" that I've never heard of: "The Russian bear never dies, it just hibernates." Um, no. #VPdebate
FACTCHECK: "The Russian bear never dies it just hibernates" is not a thing.
And of course there was snark because Twitter during a debate is fueled entirely on it.
PENCE: The Russian bear never sleeps, it hibernates. The French wolf doesn't cry, it makes beautiful love. The Portuguese dolphin doesn't la
"a bear never dies, it hibernates." -- Dwight K. Schrute, also Mike Pence
Can they bring a biologist onstage to confirm @mike_pence's bear comments? #VPDebate
There IS one place where the phrase, or something close to it pops up: in a quote from one Michael Pence given to the National Review back in 2014.
So if Pence did come up with that quote himself, he'd better get it copyrighted ASAP. It's a good one.
