WASHINGTON (AP) – Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s conservative track record on immigration dates to his earliest days in the U.S. House and echoes the hard-line stance of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who chose Pence as his running mate. But he left no doubt in a sometimes awkward event that Pence’s role will surely be as sidekick to the businessman-turned-reality-star-turned-politician at the top of the ticket. Trump may not be a traditional Republican but his running mate has the credentials to satisfy the conservative base.
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Then he pivoted directly into an attack on presumptive Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton. The two men appeared together just briefly.
The Trump-Pence event offered Americans the first glimpse at what the 2016 Republican presidential ticket will look like, barring the unexpected.
Raised in Columbus, Indiana, in an Irish-Catholic family, Pence revered the Kennedys growing up and has said he voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980.
Donald Trump strolled onto stage solo, leaving his new running mate hidden backstage for almost half an hour.
Campaign-trail citations of “Two Corinthians” and the Bible as his favorite book (just ahead of “The Art of the Deal”) notwithstanding, something about Donald Trump’s professed Christianity strikes many people as less than authentic. “Indiana is a better state for the unborn and their mothers because of the Governor’s pro-life leadership”, said Indiana Right to Life President and CEO, Mike Fichter. A voracious consumer of news, Trump fumed as he watched television reports declaring he had settled on Pence before he’d made a call to the governor.
Thousands of media, partisan bloggers, and wannabe journalists looking to capture a YouTube moment showing unruly delegates acting up, while GOP critics, Democrats and demonstrators will be out in force – a potentially explosive mix for Trump’s campaign. We are reminded that In Trump University Branding 101, the business guru advises that while “you do not need a graphic design house to develop your logo … you do need to be sure that your logo leads to the attributes you want associated with your brand”.
Pence, 57, only emerged on the short list in recent weeks, after better-known party heavyweights including vanquished presidential contenders like John Kasich or Ted Cruz either declined to be considered or appeared to not make the cut. He did return for a brief photo-op at the end.
But while he adds a more predictable presence to Trump’s campaign, Democrats immediately seized on his staunchly conservative positions and some of his harsh comments about gays and lesbians that have caused his approval ratings in IN to plummet. He spoke for only a few minutes, telling the crowd that he and his family were headed home for “pizza night”.
“Pence – pro-immigration, pro-trade, pro-Iraq war/surge, pro-civility in politics, anti-religious test for Muslims – signs onto Trump agenda?”
The lead-up to the low-key Saturday was anything but smooth.
Following an attack in Nice, France, Trump canceled a planned announcement Friday morning.
Over the last week in the run-up to Trump’s Friday tweet announcing his pick, Pence had dodged answering reporters’ questions in IN over his conflicting stances, including whether he endorsed Trump’s proposal to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The setting for the televised roll-out, two days before the Republican National Convention kicks off in Cleveland, was a New York Hilton Midtown ballroom with floor-to-ceiling drapery, multiple US flags and little other decoration other than the usual “Trump” placard on the front of the podium.
“We should frankly test every person from here who is of a Muslim background and if they believe in sharia (law) they should be deported”.
A critical episode in derailing a Pence presidential bid came in March 2015, when he signed into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a state law that allowed businesses to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in the name of their professed religious principles. But his hard line ideology is sometimes at odds with Trump.
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In addition to his views on social issues, Pence has called climate change “a myth” and contended that smoking cigarettes – while certainly unhealthy – isn’t lethal.
