Pence was to have been at a National Governors Association meeting in Des Moines this week, but as speculation swirled about whether he would be Trump’s pick, he did not make an appearance. A former congressman, Pence is in many ways what Trump is not: a strong social conservative with deep.
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Manafort said he expected Trump on Friday to announce a new day and time for revealing his pick for vice president.
The two men scheduled a news conference for Saturday in NY to present themselves to America as the Republican team that will take on Hillary Clinton and her Democratic running mate in November.
Trump had earlier stated he would publicly reveal his pick at a Friday press conference, but postponed it after Thursday’s truck attack in the French city of Nice that left at least 84 people dead.
Pence has a strong pro-life record as IN governor and has weathered numerous attacks from abortion activists.
Pence rose to the top of Trump’s list in recent days as the two men spent more time together. His selection as vice president would go a long way toward mollifying concerns some pro-life voters have had about Trump, who has campaigned as a pro-life candidate but who has made some misstatements about abortion and Planned Parenthood.
And, as NPR’s Jessica Taylor noted, 57-year-old Pence will “give Trump a younger, conservative favorite to help heal the rift within the Republican Party and ease the minds of many still skeptical of the presumptive presidential nominee”. Trump’s formal announcement came about an hour before Pence’s noon Friday deadline for withdrawing. He also said Pence’s low-key, quiet demeanor is a plus for the ticket and “is going to modify somewhat the erratic demeanor of Trump”.
“Calls to ban Muslims from entering the US are offensive and unconstitutional”, Pence tweeted at the time.
Pence earned plaudits from fellow Republicans.
“Great pick. @mike_pence is rock solid”, tweeted former 2016 presidential candidate Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida.
Yet Pence is largely unknown to many Americans.
Trump was wise not to have picked the more explosive Gingrich or Christie, Sabato said.
In this photo taken July 11, 2016, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump listens to a question during an interview in Virginia Beach, Va.
“#NeverTrump is never more”, Trump gloated on Twitter.
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Meanwhile, a longstanding effort to deny Trump the nomination appears to have failed, when the convention’s rules committee refused to allow a clause that would have let delegates vote their “conscience” at the convention.
