“My fellow Hoosiers, I’m here to announce that today in New York City, I accepted Donald Trump’s invitation to run and serve as Vice President of the United States of America”, Pence said during his brief, eight-minute address to the gathering. “And, and this campaign and Donald Trump’s candidacy has been about the issues the American people care about”.
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“I think this is a good man who’s been talking about the issues the American people care about”, Pence said.
Now officially part of Donald Trump’s presidential ticket, Mike Pence returned home in a private jet Saturday to be greeted by a cheering crowd and the theme music from the movie “Air Force One” blaring over loudspeakers.
“I call her “Crooked Hillary” – she’s crooked Hillary”, Trump told CBS.
Trump declared that he and Pence are “the law-and-order candidates.”
Turning to his family, Pencechoked up while thanking his kids for their “unflinching love and tireless effort”, and his mom who “always believed in every one of us”.
The joint appearance was meant to catapult the party toward a successful and unified Republican National Convention, which kicks off in Cleveland on Monday. Choosing a venue in a state Trump has little chance of winning also broke with traditional politicking strategy.
The lack of hoopla contrasted with Mitt Romney’s introduction four years ago of running mate Paul Ryan on the deck of a Navy battleship, the USS Wisconsin, off the shore of swing-state Virginia.
The governor of IN was formally presented as Trump’s running mate Saturday, a day after Trump announced the choice on Twitter.
Pence landed at Indianapolis Executive Airport shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, after a whirlwind visit to NY, where he was named the presumed Republican presidential candidate’s running mate.
The underwhelming rollout of the GOP ticket continued when Pence flew back home to IN without Trump.
Prior to accepting the nod from Trump, Pence had been critical of some of Trump’s rhetoric towards Muslims, but has put that aside for a shot at joining him in the White House. He spoke for only a few minutes, telling the crowd that he and his family were headed home for “pizza night”.
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On Thursday, Trump had convened a midnight campaign conference call about his pick, even after he’d had Pence fly to NY to accept his offer.
