After the revelations in the past 48 hours of this campaign, there were rumors swirling that Indiana Governor Mike Pence could simply withdraw as Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee and abandon the campaign. Pence took to the media this morning and firmly squashed the rumors saying this campaign has been a “privilege” of a lifetime.
Report from CNN:
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said Monday that he did not consider leaving Donald Trump’s presidential ticket, saying it’s the “greatest honor of my life” to be nominated by the Republican Party as Trump’s running mate.
“You know I’ll always keep my conversations with Donald Trump and my family private. But it’s absolutely false to suggest that at any point in time we considered dropping off this ticket,” Pence told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota in an interview on “New Day.”
Pence was then asked if evidence surfaced that Trump had groped women, like he described in 2005, would he drop off the ticket. But he deflected to accusations against Bill Clinton.
“Alisyn, he said last night very clearly that that was talk, not actions. And I believe him and I think the contrast between that and what the Clintons were involved in 20 years ago — the four women that were present last night — was pretty dramatic,” Pence said.
He said the general election is a choice of “two futures.”
Pence signaled he will stick with Trump through the election, following his debate performance Sunday night in a tweet.
Here is video of Pence speaking this morning on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=057Q5827PQU
I have to imagine Pence was miffed by the video released on Friday, but what is he really supposed to do about it? If he were to defect from Trump, he’d certainly face a backlash from Trump loyalists for the remainder of his political career. On the other hand, sticking by Trump until the end will at least leave him in good shape with most factions of the GOP long after this election cycle is finished.
It may be the case that others were pushing this narrative, specifically Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, who was actively calling for Pence to withdraw from the Trump campaign and formally endorse the Libertarian ticket.
