Update, 5:43: An aide to Mike Pence tells Politico that Pence does indeed support McCain and Ayotte. “The aide said a statement clarifying Pence’s position is forthcoming,” Politico writes, “adding that Pence supports all sitting GOP members of Congress in their primaries.”
Original post:
Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence’s role on the Trump ticket this week has been that of “normal clean-up fixer guy”: the one who goes out and does the opposite of whatever batty thing Donald Trump is doing at any given moment. When Trump repeatedly criticizes the parents of a dead soldier, Pence comes in and thanks those parents for their sacrifice. When Trump, for no particular reason, refuses to endorse Paul Ryan ahead of his Tuesday primary, Pence comes in and endorses Ryan, says he’s swell. Pence is on the ticket to show that a normal person, operating under the normal rules of human and political etiquette, is at least somewhere in the vicinity of Donald Trump.
Unless we’re talking about Sens. John McCain or Kelly Ayotte, that is. Then it’s a unified effort to spurn them—for no particular reason.
Reporters asked Pence today if he would support McCain and Ayotte ahead of their primaries, even though Trump has not endorsed them. Not only did Pence refuse to do so, but his language about “new leadership,” as reported by NBC News, leans closer to endorsing their primary opponents.
“I look forward to supporting Republican candidates in the days and weeks ahead all over the country, and so does Donald Trump,” Pence said. “But the stakes in this election are so high. To restore our country and home and abroad, we need new leadership, and I’m looking forward to standing should to shoulder with Donald Trump to drive that new leadership forward.”
Huh. What? Pence met with McCain in Arizona earlier this week, in what seemed like another of Pence’s normal clean-up fixer guy’s duties. McCain has campaigned for Pence in the past. Why does Pence want to further inflame this?
A few possibilities.
- Trump has told Pence that he’s diverged from the boss’ position too many times of late and needs to get on the same page on important issues, like trolling John McCain and Kelly Ayotte.
- Pence got into a bar fight with McCain at some point in the last 48 hours. Also, Pence got into a bar fight with Ayotte at some point in the last 48 hours.
- Trump and Pence are trying to help McCain and Ayotte with their general elections by affording them distance from their own nightmare up-ballot campaign.
- The Trump campaign is considering endorsing primary opponents of either McCain or Ayotte.
I was thinking bar fights. But then I read this:
It’s hard to be normal clean-up fixer guy on such a short leash.
