In spite of telling Fox News just the evening before that he hadn’t made a “final, final decision” as to his running mate, Donald Trump officially announced on Friday that he has chosen Indiana governor Mike Pence to be his vice presidential running mate in the election that no one can stop talking about. By this point, you’ve probably already seen the cringe-worthy Trump-Pence logo that has everyone feeling really uncomfortable, and you may have seen MSNBC’s The MaddowBlog report citing that Mike Pence is the most far-right running mate since at least 1900. But what else is there to know about the man who dropped his gubernatorial reelection bid in order to be Donald Trump’s (small) right-hand man?
1. He hasn’t been on Team Trump from the start.
Mike Pence explicitly voiced his support for Ted Cruz shortly before the Indiana Republican primary, stating that Ted Cruz would most effectively defend Constitutional liberties. While Pence didn’t make openly disparaging remarks about Trump, it’s interesting to watch him campaign alongside someone who embodies much of what he’s flagrantly decried over the years.
2. Pence is a relatively safe choice for Donald Trump.
Although his voting record is more staunchly conservative than those of about 95 percent of the US House of Representatives, Pence has been described repeatedly by numerous sources as being “mild-mannered” and a “low-risk” VP choice for Trump. He doesn’t seem to exude the impulsivity that has become Trump’s hallmark over the course of his campaign, and Trump will almost definitely not be upstaged by Pence. Pence has described himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order,” which may attract the votes of many conservative Christians who were on the fence about voting for Trump. Pence’s predictability lends stability to Trump’s platform, even if that stability is grounded in views that are more right-leaning than even Michele Bachmann’s.
3. Pence decimates Trump’s chances of getting the gay Republican vote.
While he may help Trump in attaining the conservative Christian vote, his abysmal stances in regard to the LGBT community will likely deter gay Republicans from voting Trump. He’s said that gay couples are bringing about “societal collapse,” he was against the repeal of DADT, he opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and he gained notoriety for signing Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law last year. In his 2000 “The Pence Agenda for the 107th Congress: A Guide to Renewing the American Dream,” Pence wrote that “Congress should oppose any effort to recognize homosexual's [sic] as a ‘discreet and insular minority’ entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities.”
4. Pence and Trump are one and the same when it comes to climate change.
In 2012, Donald Trump tweeted, “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive,” and his views on the topic haven’t changed since. Pence also believes that global warming does not exist, having called it a “myth” in one of his op-ed pieces. Here he is talking to Chris Matthews in 2009, denouncing global warming and being remarkably reticent on the topic of evolution. During a time in which we worry about our impact on the environment, and the state of the world that we’re leaving to our posterity, having leaders who are willing to acknowledge scientific findings is of the utmost importance.
5. Pence has said virtually nothing on the Black Lives Matter movement.
This isn’t to say that Pence believes that black lives don’t matter, but it is to draw attention to the fact that he’s evaded the topic carefully. If Pence wishes to be seriously regarded as a candidate who could be vice president of the United States, it is crucial that he be able to address issues that have been brought to the national forefront. At present, his lack of commentary is worrisome, because it suggests that were a Trump presidency to occur, issues regarding racial tension and police brutality would almost definitely wind up on the back burner.
Whether or not you’re a fan of Mike Pence and his policies, it can hardly be disputed that he is a stellar representative for the set of beliefs to which he and many others adhere. Whether or not this set of beliefs is well-adapted to a world that is evolving and becoming more aware is an entirely different story.
