Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (R-N.Y.) is apparently tired of allegations that he is not really a conservative. On July 15, Trump announced that he had chosen Mike Pence as his VP. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Trump made the announcement on Twitter.
Pence is Indiana’s 50th governor, having been elected in 2012 after spending 12 years in Congress. Unlike with Donald Trump, nobody appears to question Mike Pence’s conservative bona fides.
On the contrary, Pence may even be too rabidly conservative for a lot of moderate Republicans.
I am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my Vice Presidential running mate. News conference tomorrow at 11:00 A.M.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2016
Less than one week into Trump-Pence 2016, it has already become interesting. Mike Pence’s years in politics provide plenty of cause for concern, and have surely caused Trump some anxiety already, particularly since he was on the fence about choosing Pence as recently as the night before the announcement.
Cruz Endorsement
Pence waited almost until the last minute to endorse a Republican presidential candidate. Finally, just four days before the Indiana primary, he unenthusiastically endorsed Senator Rafael Ted Cruz (-Texas).
Fortunately for Pence, he also qualified his less-than-ringing endorsement by noting that he was not against anybody. Now, a few short months later, Pence apparently likes the idea Trump for president – or at least the idea of himself as vice president.
Legalized Discrimination
Pence rapidly rose from near-obscurity and irrelevance outside of Indiana to national infamy after he signed a “religious freedom” law in 2015. The law thrilled Indiana’s conservatives, but horrified critics who accused the law of sanctioning discrimination against same-sex couples.
Mothers Belong At Home
Trump has already been soundly criticized as being a misogynist. Now he has chosen a running mate who thinks women belong at home. In a 1997 letter to the Indianapolis Star, Pence argued that children of working parents have stunted emotional growth.
Lest he categorically offend every female voter, Pence suggested that the problem was not with working mothers, but instead with the tax code.
Adultery Should Be Illegal
During his days as a radio and television host in the 1990s, Pence argued on at least several occasions that adultery should be illegal. Marital problems then are not just an issue between two spouses, but an issue for the police, prosecutors, and courts as well.
How Pence intends to square his opinions on the sanctity of marriage with the Trump’s reputation remains to be seen.
Trump-Pence 2016
Mike Pence as the Republican VP candidate may make sense for Trump on some levels. Pence is certainly conservative and has a track record to prove it.
The fact that he is far more conservative than Trump on a number of social issues may provide additional entertainment in an election season that has already been far from boring.
Check out this video of Donald Trump’s awkward introduction of Mike Pence as his VP:
Featured image via Steve Baker Via Flickr/CC by ND-2.0.
