Campaign 2016 Pence

Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks during a campaign stop, Monday, Sept. 26, 2016, in Milford, N.H.

(Jim Cole, Associated Press)

The debate over climate change: As expected, Tuesday morning's political talk shows focused on Monday night's debate. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump faced criticism on the debate stage for his previous statements on whether climate change is man-made, and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway sought to clarify his stance Tuesday on "New Day," reports CNN. "He believes that global warming is naturally occurring," Conway said. "There are shifts naturally occurring." When CNN's Alisyn Camerota asked if that means that Trump believes that climate change is not man-made, Conway responded, "Correct."

But Pence disagrees: Roughly an hour later, Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, appeared to take the opposite view, according to CNN. "Well, look, there's no question that the activities that take place in this country and in countries around the world have some impact on the environment and some impact on climate," Pence said on "New Day."

Pence also defended Trump's tweet from 2012, in which he said the "concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive," calling it "humorous" and explaining that he and Trump are opposed to certain environmental policies.

Trump's taxes in the spotlight: Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton came out swinging against Trump Tuesday, criticizing his post-performance complaints, questioning his wealth and suggesting that he hasn't paid federal income taxes in years, reports ABC News. "He actually bragged about gaming the system to get out of paying his fair share of taxes," Clinton said while campaigning in North Carolina, referencing a comment Trump made during the debate. "In fact, I think there's a strong probability he hasn't paid federal taxes a lot of years."

Clinton's emails were also brought up: "I will release my tax returns, against my lawyers' wishes, when [Clinton] releases her 33,000 emails that have been deleted," Trump said during the debate, according to the Chicago Sun Times. Clinton responded, "If I had to do it over again, I would, obviously, do it differently. But I'm not going to make any excuses. It was a mistake, and I take responsibility for that."

Comey says there was no obstruction of justice: After the candidates discussed Clinton's emails on the debate stage, the Senate Homeland Security Committee also focused on the investigation into those documents Tuesday, reports Politico. "We looked at it very hard to see if there was criminal obstruction of justice," FBI Director James Comey said under questioning by Chairman Sen. Ron Johnson. "We could not make an obstruction case against any of the subjects we looked at," he said, not identifying those whose conduct the FBI investigated for potential obstruction.

So how did the candidates do? While a majority of political insiders considered Clinton to be the winner of Monday's debate, some Trump supporters praised his debate performance, and others criticized Lester Holt's moderating. House Speaker Paul Ryan gave a robust endorsement Tuesday of Trump's debate performance, reports Politico. Ryan said Trump gave a "spirited argument" for Republican priorities, "passed a number of thresholds" and showed "he could go toe-to-toe with Hillary Clinton."

But not all Republicans were so enthused. Republican Study Committee Chairman Bill Flores of Texas said Trump "made some good points, but he wasn't as consistent as he could be." Conservative Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania saw "missed opportunities."

"I think the reaction from a lot of people is, 'In a nation of over 300 million people, this is the best we can do?'" said moderate Rep. Charlie Dent, who has been critical of Trump. "I thought I was watching a dumpster fire."

How did Trump feel? Moments after the debate, Trump expressed his discontent on Twitter about topics he thought Holt should have raised. "Nothing on emails. Nothing on the corrupt Clinton Foundation. And nothing on #Benghazi," Trump tweeted.

Giuliani agrees: Trump supporter and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday that Holt resembled Candy Crowley's performance when she fact-checked as she moderated a 2012 presidential debate between President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney, reports Politico. In an interview with "Fox & Friends," Giuliani said he watched the debate two times - once live, "and then I went home and I watched Lester Holt do Candy Crowley at least twice."

Cruz stands with Trump: After formally endorsing his former primary opponent Friday, Sen. Ted Cruz said Tuesday he is "happy to help" with Trump's campaign, reports CNN. "I have conveyed that to them. I will do whatever I can to defeat Hillary Clinton," Cruz told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, adding that he is also focused on preserving the Republican majority in the Senate.

What if Trump mentions Bill Clinton's affairs in the next debate? Clinton is "ready for anything," according to campaign manager Robby Mook, reports CNN. "She's experienced at these debates," Mook said Tuesday on "New Day." "I'm not concerned about that. It's just sad that we can't have an actual discussion about the issues because Donald Trump doesn't have a command on the issues." Trump told CNN Monday that he might bring up former President Bill Clinton's past marital indiscretions at the next presidential debate on Oct. 9.

All eyes on the vice presidential debate: Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine are both feeling more pressure after Monday's contest between their running mates, reports Politico. Kaine told supporters in Orlando Tuesday that Clinton raised expectations for the Virginia senator to match him. "Man, you've really raised the bar. You put the kind of pressure on me that I like to really help my debate next Tuesday," he recalled telling Clinton shortly after the debate. Pence expressed a similar sentiment, telling Fox News that "Donald Trump raised the bar for his running mate last night."

Bush to lecture at Harvard: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will be a guest lecturer about education at Harvard University this fall, the John F. Kennedy School of Government announced Tuesday, according to CNN. The former GOP presidential candidate, who was known for his love of policy on the campaign trail, will deliver his first lecture Thursday. Bush will also co-lecture in a course called, "The Political Economy of the School," and participate in faculty-led student study groups.