NEW YORK-U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump on Saturday presented his vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, as the man who can unify a fractured Republican party and help him bridge the gap created by the candidate’s outsider status.
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In the interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes, in which Trump still dominated but included his vice presidential pick more than he had during his introduction of Pence Saturday, Trump agreed.
But Twitter users suggested blurring the image to make it “appropriate” for audiences, while others said Trump and Pence must have a “very close relationship”.
Trump made that announcement earlier Saturday at a news conference in New York City. And I am really relieved that Donald Trump picked a governor to be his running mate.
Pence’s endorsement of Cruz was widely regarded as tepid at the time and he took pains to praise Trump in announcing it. It was an awkward moment that came at a time of intense division with the GOP, but one that Trump felt was worth recalling seconds before bringing Pence onstage.
“I love what he just said”, Trump said.
Brandishing his running mate’s job-creating credentials, Trump – who pushed back against reports of indecision by deeming the governor “my first choice” – ticked through a list of statistics he said showed how Pence had pulled IN out of economic recession: an unemployment rate that fell to less than 5 percent on his watch, an uptick IN the labor force and a decrease IN IN residents on unemployment insurance.
Once calling himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order”, Pence is also a beloved social conservative among the devout evangelical conservatives within the party.
“(Trump) also needed a good, decent, honest person to tell him the truth, and in Mike Pence he got all of those things.
“Reasonable people can disagree about whether we should have gone into Iraq”, he said.
Pence was not onstage with Trump during this extended tribute to Trump’s own greatness, and Trump left the stage before Pence began his own remarks.
But beyond solidifying the frayed Republican Party, it is not clear that Pence will be able to attract swing voters still unsure about Trump and potentially looking at Democrat Hillary Clinton. “And they got crushed immediately, because people want what we’re saying to happen”.
“He needs someone with him who has governed, who knows how to govern”, Christie added.
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Hannity also asked Pence about his prior support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive 12-nation Asian trade agreement that Trump has regularly railed against.
