Caitlin Yilek at The Hill writes of conservative commentator Ann Coulter’s reaction to the reports that GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump has chosen IN governor Mike Pence as his running mate.
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Trump was set to make the formal announcement Friday morning in NY, until the deadly events in Nice, France pushed those plans back.
A former U.S. Congressman, Pence was elected as IN governor IN 2012 on a platform of staunch conservative values.
On Trump’s shortlist: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, according to people familiar with the candidate’s thinking.
“I told him quite directly he had a choice between having two pirates on the ticket and a pirate and a relatively stable, more normal person”, Gingrich said, referring to Pence’s more subdued personality. “Clearly, Mike is one of those”.
The clearest signal that Pence could be Trump’s pick came from a list of speakers the campaign released Thursday.
Trump, a NY businessman, is to be formally nominated as the party’s candidate for the November 8 presidential election at the Republican National Convention next week in Cleveland.
Pence, who served in Congress for 12 years from 2000-2012, was a leading social conservative in the House – a reassurance to many Republicans concerned about Trump’s political history as a registered Democrat who has shown little command of policy as a 2016 presidential candidate.
“Well let me say first and foremost, I stand by this law”, he said.
The Indianapolis Star, New York Times, CNN and others have reported Pence as the pick. Trump, a NY businessman, has never held elected office.
“You never know”, he said. It remains to be seen if Pence’s departure would make holding on to the governor’s office easier or harder for Republicans. Trump said following Pence’s introduction.
“About a week ago, I text him and said good things happen to good people”.
Instead, “wedge issues”, such as Pence’s vote against the Medicare Part D expansion that provides millions of older Americans with prescription drug benefits, could be what earns or loses the Trump ticket votes. IN law stipulated he had to decide by Friday whether he wanted to run for governor or for vice president, as he can not run for both. That’s experience that Trump is exclusively lacking for many so-called establishment Republicans. The two men also shared breakfast Wednesday morning at the governor’s residence, where they were joined by Trump’s adult children, who are all influential in Trump’s decision-making process.
Trump won the state anyway, and Cruz dropped out of the Republican race.
Ms Ginsburg, the 83-year-old senior liberal member of the high court, inserted herself into the United States presidential election in recent days by making negative remarks about Mr Trump in a series of media interviews. In Pence’s six terms representing Indiana’s 6th Congressional District, Lenkowsky didn’t see him act as a major legislative dealmaker.
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In order to choose Pence, Trump had to make a decision by noon on Friday, the deadline for the IN governor to drop his bid for re-election. Trump also reportedly met with Gingrich and Sen.
