About 24 hours after multiple media outlets reported that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence would be Donald Trump’s pick for the vice presidential slot on the Republican ticket and Trump’s camp then denied that any decision had been made, the candidate himself made it official on Friday.
Pence, who had flown to be in New York on Thursday night, was originally scheduled to have been announced as the nominee at an event on Friday morning. But Trump postponed the event after the Nice terrorist attack. Even this morning there was some uncertainty as to who the pick might be because Trump’s campaign had emphasized repeatedly that no decision had been made, and the presumptive Republican nominee has a bit of a reputation for unpredictability.
CNN first broke the news just before Trump announced it on Twitter and reported that the candidate had been frustrated with the early leak of who it was going to be.
A Trump campaign adviser said Trump was frustrated with all of the reports confirming that Pence was the pick while the businessman was in California on a fundraising trip, “six hours and three time zones away no less.”
If you’re into this sort of thing, Reihan Salam has written the ultimate Pence takedown in Slate, which really tells you a lot of what you need to know about the guy.
