The billionaire spoke for almost half an hour on Saturday as he introduced his pick for the man who could be America’s next vice president, calling Mr Pence onto the stage at the end. He added: “He’s a solid, solid person”.
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Pence, standing alone in front of ten American flags, hewed closely to the populist themes that Trump has voiced on the campaign trail, describing himself as “really just a small-town boy”. He praised Trump effusively as “a good man”, a fighter, a legendary businessman and a patriotic American. One Trump adviser affirmed after the speech that it was, in fact, Trump who called Pence to ask that if he were to tap Pence, he’d get a positive answer.
“I’m a big fan of Mike Pence, and I think he probably has a better chance of moving the candidate, perhaps, where he should be”, Senator Jeff Flake was quoted as saying.
Trump is set to be formally nominated as the party’s candidate for the presidential election at the convention, which opens in Cleveland on Monday.
“One of the reasons is party unity, I have to be honest”, he said. Saying that “we’re going to have an incredible convention”, the candidate also taunted “Never Trump” opponents who failed to change the voting rules in a bid to somehow derail his nomination. “I don’t want to be an outsider”.
Trump, multiple sources told CNN, was troubled by his gut feeling that he should have gone with his friend, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie instead, and made calls to his children and campaign chairman Paul Manafort, but was told he could not. He also, fairly or not, acquired a reputation over the past few months as a spineless lackey for Trump, an image that would have reinforced the impression that Trump couldn’t deal with independent politicians.
Trump’s pick was aimed in part at easing some Republicans’ concerns about his temperament and lack of political experience.
Pence, a staunchly conservative 57-year-old, served six terms in Congress before being elected governor and could help Trump navigate Capitol Hill.
Trump said the primary reason he chose Pence, interjecting “other than he looks very good”, and talking about his family, was because of the governor’s record in Indiana. If the main electoral imperative in running-mate selections is to Do No Harm, Pence fits the bill. Republican officials were overwhelmingly positive in their reactions to a Trump-Pence ticket. “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”.
Liberals and moderates won’t like that he is a social and fiscal conservative who has cut taxes, backed highly restrictive abortion legislation, and signed Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a measure that rightfully generated strong objections as it provided a religious basis for denying service to people based on sexual orientation. But his hard-line ideology is also at odds with Trump, who has largely avoided discussion of social issues.
The Trump-ites reacted most enthusiastically to Pence’s denunciation of Clinton. It was their first joint appearance since Trump announced the pick on Twitter Friday.
“Indiana Governor Mike Pence is my first choice”. Moments later, one of Pence’s aides filed paperwork with the Indiana Secretary of State’s office withdrawing him from the governor’s race.
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Trump and Pence will appear at a midtown Manhattan hotel on Saturday morning. “You heard what he was screaming out the window”, Trump said. Along with supporting traditional conservative legislation, Pence also supported unconventional maneuvers, such as a 2011 gambit to defund Planned Parenthood that almost forced the shutdown of the federal government. Trump met privately with Pence before Indiana’s primaries, seeking his endorsement.
