Skipping the traditional massive rally in favor of a low-key announcement in a Manhattan hotel, Trump tried to draw a sharp contrast between Pence, a soft-spoken conservative, and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate.
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Ms. Clinton spent Friday holding meetings in Washington about her own vice presidential choice.
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.
“I am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my Vice Presidential running mate”, Trump tweeted Friday morning. He added: “He’s a solid, solid person”. Instead, he has the prospect of a second act: if Trump should lose, it will certainly not be seen as Pence’s fault; if he should win, Pence will be credited for making Trump more acceptable. “Many people who were skeptical of Trump will find Pence a very reassuring choice”. Carter is a Christian who says Americans of all faiths should be alarmed by Gingrich’s proposal. “We’re exhausted of having politicians in both parties in Washington, D.C., telling us we’ll get to those problems tomorrow”.
Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked Pence about the issue during an interview that aired Friday night. “I want to be an outsider”. 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.
“This is the primary reason I wanted Mike – other than that he looks very good, other than he’s got an incredible family, and incredible wife”, Trump said. More immediately, the selection of Pence will foster party unity, and perhaps cajole the elected officials closest to voters into turning out the vote for Trump. The duo will head to Cleveland next week for the Republican National Convention.
Glancing at notes, Trump lauded Pence’s personal character and conservative credentials.
“We need to make sure that people of all ages have the tools they need to create a brighter future”, she said. But his hardline ideology is also at odds with Trump, who has largely avoided wading into social issues.
Pence ran for governor as a fiscal rather than a social conservative, and he began his term by signing a large tax cut into law, which has made finding money for road construction a challenge.
Gingrich recently stirred up controversy in the wake of the terror attack in Nice, France when he said that “Western Civilization is in a war”, and called for a test of every American with a Muslim background “and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported”.
Trump had faced a midday Friday deadline to announce Pence because the governor had to declare by then whether he would be on the ballot in his home state for re-election.
Pence also has influential allies in Trump’s inner circle.
Pence, the governor of IN, has called for “swift adoption” of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact with Asian countries.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., praised the choice of Mr. Pence.
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The underwhelming rollout continued when Pence got back to IN, where a few hundred people greeted him at a suburban Indianapolis airport hangar bereft of any “Trump-Pence” signs or other obvious trappings of a presidential campaign.
