Donald Trump’s choice of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence provides the ticket with solid conservative credentials, a dash of establishment respectability and an experienced hand who knows his way around Capitol Hill. Trump says he’ll now hold a news conference on Saturday morning.
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“If there was any doubt Donald Trump had the anti-women, anti-LGBT, anti-worker vote locked up, choosing Mike Pence as his running mate, the most extreme VP pick in a generation, put those fears to rest”.
Trump adviser Ed Brookover told CNN that Trump “first and foremost” wants a running mate who he has good chemistry with and someone who can help him govern best.
Trump also seriously considered offering the running mate post to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, according to people familiar with the process.
Pence, 57, is known as a staunch conservative and a member of the conservative Tea Party movement. This, after a day of rampant speculation that saw Indiana Gov. Mike Pence emerge as a late favorite for the job. The experience Pence brings to the table can not be understated.
In his first public remarks after Trump announced his running mate, Pence appeared to soften his opposition to a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country after he called it “offensive and unconstitutional” in a tweet last December.
Pence is well-regarded by evangelical Christians, particularly after signing a law that critics said would allow businesses to deny service to gay people for religious reasons.
Ted Cruz in Indiana’s Republican primary. “This new Trump-Pence ticket stands in dramatic contrast to Hillary Clinton’s vision of our future – one where we are stronger together, where unity prevails over division and the economy works for all Americans, not just those at the top”, Clinton’s campaign director John Podesta said in the note.
The Trump Make America Great Again Committee, as it’s called, revealed the logo in an email with a personal message from Trump, according to the Washington Examiner.
The reaction to the Pence choice from Republican officials was overwhelmingly positive – no small feat for Trump, given how polarizing he’s been within his own party. However, he delayed it after Thursday’s deadly attack in Nice, France.
“He gives Trump the veneer of conservatism without anyone ever having to worry that he’d actually fight for those principles”, conservative talk radio host Erick Erickson wrote this week on The Resurgent bashing Pence.
Still, Pence and Trump have differing views on a number key issues and it remains to be seen how the two will cooperate. The Republican National Convention meets in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday to formally nominate Trump as the party’s candidate.
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Among the notable politicians not seeking the governor’s seat are Daniels, who said he wouldn’t Thursday, and Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma, who said in a statement that he’d received “many calls” urging him to run.
