WATCH: Mike Pence Admits Trump Couldn’t Care Less About His Conflicts Of Interest

In the past week, we got proof not just beyond reasonable doubt, but beyond all doubt, that Donald Trump has no intention of separating himself from his real estate empire once he officially becomes president. Well, on Sunday, his running mate told the nation that Trump really doesn’t care when anyone raises a stink about it.

When Mike Pence dropped by “Fox News Sunday,” the conversation quickly turned to Trump’s potentially stratospheric conflicts of interest. Think Progress got a clip.

As we all know by now, Trump plans to turn the Trump Organization over to a so-called blind trust overseen by his children. Host Chris Wallace told Pence that this raised the prospect of people simply making a deal with the Trump Organization if they wanted to gain Trump’s favor. Wallace told Pence that it wasn’t just Democrats saying this; one senior Republican told Wallace that this could potentially be “the Clinton Foundation on steroids.”

Pence replied that Trump was working with “the best legal minds in the country” to ensure that Trump would keep the proper distance from his business interests. Wallace wasn’t buying it. In a rare outbreak of journalism, he pointed out that there was a much larger issue at play.

“If I may just ask a question, sir, briefly — if his kids are running the business, and we’re talking about buildings here. If he doesn’t divest himself of the business, a lot of people are saying turn it into cash, he’s going to know who the kids are doing business with. In fact, there was just a meeting in the last few days with some of his business partners from India. Doesn’t that create a tremendous danger of a conflict of interest?”

Pence’s response has to be reproduced in full to be believed.

“Well, I can tell you, in a recent interview after the election, the president-elect summed up his view of his interest in his business life with two words. He said, ‘Who cares?'”

With all due respect, Mike, we damned well have a right to care. We care when Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, attends a meeting with her dad and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe even though she doesn’t have a security clearance and is likely to become acting CEO of the Trump Organization. Think Progress’ Judd Legum noted–rightly–that Ivanka’s presence effectively told Abe and the rest of the world that anyone who crosses her and the Trump Organization risks crossing the president of the United States.

We care when diplomats openly admit that they hope to gain Trump’s favor by staying at his new hotel just a few blocks from the White House. It almost certainly violates the Constitution’s ban on federal officials accepting gifts from foreign powers–and could potentially be grounds for impeachment.

We care when Trump himself meets with business partners a week after the election–and after promising he would separate himself from his company if elected. And we care when Trump’s own kids play key roles in the transition to their father’s administration when they are going to run his company.

In the last week, we have found ourselves asking questions about Trump that we should never, ever, have to ask about an incoming president. When we have to wonder whether a president will put his own business interests ahead of his oath of office, we damned well should care–contrary to what Pence says.

You would think that if anyone on Team Trump would understand the need to hold yourself to a higher standard, it would be Pence–at least on paper. After all, he has long billed himself as “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican–in that order.” Well, from where I’m sitting, Pence just proved that slogan is a lie.

(featured image courtesy Trump’s Facebook)

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.