As most of us know, a number of religious right leaders started warming to Donald Trump soon after he named Mike Pence as his running mate. Pence, remember, is one of them–he considers himself “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.”
Since Trump’s upset victory, Pence has served as the White House’s main liaison to the religious right. Just two weeks after he took office, he became the highest-ranking government official to address the March for Life. Watch his speech here, courtesy CNN.
And just last week, he spoke at a 40th anniversary gala for Focus on the Family on behalf of the administration. People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch got a clip.
Pence said that he was proud to serve alongside a president “who stands without apology for the sanctity of human life.” He promised Focus on the Family that they have “an unwavering ally” in the White House.
You would think that the religious right couldn’t possibly be happier with Pence. But at least one prominent fundie isn’t so pleased with him. Namely, Rick Wiles of TruNews.
In case you missed it, Wiles went out of his way last week to praise Russia for its “defense of morality” under Vladimir Putin in a couple of on-air tirades. During the first of those tirades, which came about 32 minutes into last Tuesday’s show, Wiles fumed about a recently-passed law that will make it harder for Trump to undo sanctions on Russia. He believed it was the latest instance of the deep state–or the “dark state,” as he calls it–throwing a tantrum over Trump’s desire to “treat Russia with respect.”
Co-host Ed Szall chimed in with what he saw as a marked contrast in the discussions Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko had with Trump and Pence. While the readout of Trump’s discussion with Poroshenko suggested that they spent “maybe a couple of minutes” together at most, the readout of the vice president’s discussion with Poroshenko was “an encyclopedia.” Among other things, they discussed the aborted ceasefire in the Donbass region, monetary reform, and Ukraine’s drive to become more integrated into Europe.
Wiles and Szall found it interesting that Pence seemed to spend more time with Poroshenko than Trump. Wiles wondered if it meant that Pence had more power than Trump. Szall recalled that during the campaign, it was no secret that Pence was “deep state oriented.” For instance, he wanted to intervene in Ukraine and keep Russia at arm’s length. To Wiles, the message was obvious–he was “auditioning for the job,” and reassuring the deep state that he would do their bidding with Trump out of the way.
“He’s got to walk a very thin wire. He can’t in any way look like he’s seditious against the president. He can’t speak against him. He has to be a loyal vice president. But at the same time, he’s sending the messages to the deep state. ‘If you remove President Trump from the White House, I’ll be your friend. I’ll do what you want. I’ll get the job done. I’ll carry your water for you.'”
Well, this is interesting, to say the least. So Pence is no longer the man who gives the religious right a place at the table. As far as Wiles is concerned, he’s working hand in glove with the deep state.
This actually matters a lot more than it seems. Remember, the only reason Trump’s head is still above water is because the religious right is still very much with him even in the face of the daily outrages coming from this White House. As of Monday night, FiveThirtyEight pegs Trump’s average approval rating at 39.5 percent. Even at this stage, that’s code-calling territory for any politician. But the only reason it’s even that high is because white evangelicals back him by anywhere from 73 to 78 percent–almost equal to the 81 percent support he got from that demographic last fall. If Trump’s support among fundies drops below 70 percent, his political cover will likely vanish.
And now a man who has considerable influence among the most diehard of Trump’s diehard fundie supporters has essentially called Pence a swamp creature. As it turns out, he’s echoing the thoughts of a number of people in Trumpland.
https://twitter.com/sandykindfw1/status/877375311486357504
Not if the deep state has anything to say about it. They're very interested in installing Mike Pence. They can controlled him way easier.
— EvMclovin (@EvMclovin) June 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/PeggyMicsky/status/876884647879335938
https://twitter.com/OPHION27/status/876879904415076354
It’s very possible that we could see the beginnings of the fringe eating its own. Better get the popcorn ready.
(featured image courtesy Voice of America, part of public domain)
