Joe Biden spent the first debate staring into the camera like Jim Halpert

Hey, they're both from Scranton!
 By 
Nicole Gallucci
 on 

Look out, Jim. There's a new reaction guy in town, and his name's Joe.

On Tuesday night, Joe Biden made his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, proud by spending the majority of the first presidential debate imitating another famous Scranton man: Jim Halpert.

As fans of The Office know, Jim is the go-to camera reaction guy in Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch. His signature move is a look straight to camera, often accompanied by a smirk or a dumbfounded look — depending on the situation. And as the first debate unfolded, Biden essentially perfected Jim's famous reaction.


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Via Giphy

For those who missed the debate (or simply blacked out from stress and can't remember anything that happened) Donald Trump and Joe Biden had a tough time communicating. The two spent nearly 90 straight minutes talking over each other and moderator Chris Wallace, and at one point Biden got so frustrated with Trump's constant interruptions that he simply said, "Will you shut up, man?"

Biden did try to exercise self-control and let Trump speak at times, but the president's statements were often so outlandish that Biden couldn't help but visibly react. Rather than vocally interrupt Trump, Biden spent much of the night laughing to himself and pulling a Jim Halpert by gazing directly into camera to meet the tired eyes of the American people watching at home.

Biden and Trump are set to debate each other twice more before the election — on Oct. 15th and 22nd — and Kamala Harris and Mike Pence will take part in the vice presidential debate on Oct. 7. There are still plenty of opportunities for people to pull a Jim Halpert, but if tonight's performance was any indication, Biden deserves the Dundie for Best Debate Reactions.

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Nicole Gallucci

Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.

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