Enabling a dangerous president: Pence was there
Enabling a dangerous president: Pence was there
Steven Harper, Moyers & Company
18 May 2017 at 05:08 ET
Donald Trump’s disclosure of highly sensitive intelligence to the Russians and reported efforts to shut down the FBI’s investigation into former national security adviser Mike Flynn now shine a spotlight on the next person in line for the presidency. It should be withering, because Vice President Mike Pence (JD, Indiana — Robert H. McKinney School of Law, ’86) is not a solution to Trump. His consistent dishonesty is a central part of the problem America faces. But compared to the boss, whose dangerous tendencies he has enabled, Pence seems like a Boy Scout. That merely proves the depths to which the bar of acceptable behavior has fallen, if it even exists anymore.
Lies on the Campaign Trail
As an attorney, Mike Pence has a special awareness that a public servant’s lies can undermine democracy. But such knowledge seems secondary to his political ambitions. When Trump was looking for a running mate, Pence faced the serious prospect of losing re-election as governor because of his extreme positions on social issues. For example, in 2015, he signed Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allowed businesses owners to act on their religious beliefs in refusing service to gay patrons. With Pence’s eroding popular support, the VP spot on the Republican ticket became his political lifeline, and he has repaid Trump handsomely.
Pence began to earn his Trump disinformation stripes during the first vice presidential debate. Feigning shock at Tim Kaine’s suggestion (at the 36-minute mark) that Trump was waging an insult-driven campaign, Pence looked into the camera and said incredulously, “He says ours is an insult-driven campaign? Did you all just hear that? Ours is an insult-driven campaign?”
Trump’s actions as president make Pence’s lies during the debate even more striking, including these:
When confronted (at the 20-minute mark) about Trump’s pledge to “absolutely produce his tax returns” if he ran for president, Pence said, “He hasn’t broken his promise.”
When asked (at the 44-minute mark) about Trump’s stated admiration for Vladimir Putin, Pence laughed it off: “Oh, please, come on.”
When reminded (at the 49-minute mark) that Trump had proposed banning Muslims from entering the country, Pence interrupted: “Absolutely false.”
When confronted with the fact (at the 65-minute mark) that he and Trump had praised Putin as a great leader, Pence became testy and laughed it off, saying, “No, we haven’t.”
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