How Mike Pence Defended Donald Trump by Denying Some of His Words

— -- During last night's vice-presidential debate against Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence was tasked with defending or clarifying statements made by his running mate, Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Throughout the debate, Kaine often used Trump's words against Pence. And Pence's strategy -- at times -- was to deny Trump ever said certain statements.

For example, at one point during Tuesday night's faceoff at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, Kaine attacked Trump and Pence for comparing Russian President Vladimir Putin to President Barack Obama.

"So let's start with not praising Vladimir Putin as a great leader. Donald Trump and Mike Pence have said he's a great leader," said Kaine.

"No, we haven’t," Pence injected.

But in an interview with CNN last month, Pence said Putin has been a stronger leader than Obama.

“I think it’s inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country,” Pence told CNN in September. “And that’s going to change the day that Donald Trump becomes president of the United States of America.”

And during an NBC forum in September, Trump called Putin a better leader than Obama.

"If he says great things about me, I’m going to say great things about him. I’ve already said, he is really very much of a leader. I mean, you can say, 'Oh, isn’t that a terrible thing -- the man has very strong control over a country. Now, it's a very different system, and I don't happen to like the system, but certainly in that system, he's been a leader -- far more than our president has been a leader," Trump said then.

For more examples, play the video above.