Trump is expected to hold a press conference Saturday at 11:00 a.m.to formally tap Pence as his running mate.
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A favorite quote highlights how Pence might smooth some of the sharp corners of the Trump campaign and its supporters.
But he could help unify Republicans left divided by Trump’s campaign to win the party presidential nomination for the November 8 election. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Trump said on Friday that he had settled on Pence to be his vice presidential running mate, a pick that could help unify a divided party behind Trump’s White House bid.
There appeared to be as many Trump supporters as journalists in attendance at the announcemetn, as the businessman’s backers filled five rows of seats in a Hilton ballroom that was not expanded to its full size.
When Pence opposed providing gay Americans with the protection of anti-discrimination laws, Trump declared that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission needed to protect gay rights in the workplace.
Republicans, meanwhile, mostly praised the choice, seen by analysts as a way for Trump to build inroads with the social conservative base – and Congress, where Pence previously served.
“To prevent the alternative?” he said.
Pence added that Trump is correct in his assessment that “we’ve got to do something different”, adding that in IN, he suspended the Syrian refugee program following the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. Just as Trump was settling on Pence, Republicans gathering in Cleveland essentially quelled the movement to oust Trump at the convention, all but assuring he’ll be the GOP nominee.
“He looks very good”, Trump said.
On Saturday morning, it seemed that Trump had put it all behind him when he tweeted that Pence was always his first choice.
In an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News, Pence downplayed or reversed past differences he has had with Trump.
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.
But Pence, who is in his first term as governor of in, had criticized Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims soon after it was announced, saying that such a ban was “offensive and unconstitutional”.
Several Republicans interested in replacing Pence as the gubernatorial nominee face the same withdrawal deadline.
Trump also discussed the Nice attack, criticizing the Obama administration and Clinton over their foreign policy, and vowing to protect the United States from terrorism through “strength”. Pence describes himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order”.
Republicans who have criticized Trump on various issues praised his selection of Pence.
Pence was up for re-election, and state law prohibits candidates from being on ballots in two contests.
Meanwhile Mrs Clinton’s campaign moved quickly to paint him as the “most extreme pick in a generation”. The event did not feature any new “Trump-Pence” signs, instead displaying the standard “Trump” podium sign.
Trump spent weeks weighing vice presidential contenders, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and only zeroed in on Pence in recent days.
“Well, of course I am”, Pence told MSNBC when asked if he favored blocking the entire federal budget in an effort to strip the group of funding.
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Writing in articles posted on his old congressional campaign website from 2000, Pence decried government interference in the lives of smokers.
