This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

After a week of uncharacteristic hesitation and second-guessing, Donald Trump formally introduced the Indiana governor, Mike Pence, as his vice-presidential running mate on Saturday.

Donald Trump: the making of a narcissist Read more

The event, at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan, was crafted not only as a curtain-raiser for the Republican national convention that begins in Cleveland on Monday but also as an opportunity to make a virtue of the differences between the politically inexperienced, ideologically freewheeling candidate and Pence, an unflappable conservative with evangelical Christian credentials and experience in office inside and outside of Washington.

The event itself, however, was not particularly slick. After a rambling introduction from Trump, which touched on well-worn campaign talking points as well as the Nice terror attack and the failed coup attempt in Turkey, Pence mentioned getting the call from Trump on Wednesday.

The phrase was somewhat jarring. Trump announced his selection of Pence on Friday. He was, however, reported to have long hesitated and hedged over the pick, almost up to the moment it was made official.

The billionaire was reportedly leaning toward the New Jersey governor Chris Christie, only to be persuaded by his children and his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, to follow not gut instinct but political pragmatism. Trump’s children had previously preferred the former House speaker Newt Gingrich.

Manafort has strongly rejected reports that the candidate considered changing his mind.



“Never waffled once he made his decision,” he wrote in an email cited by a number of media outlets.

The Clinton campaign seized on Trump’s apparent indecision, however, releasing a web video entitled: “Always divisive. Not so decisive.”

The choice was aided by chance: Trump’s plane burst a tire in Indianapolis, forcing him to spend more time with Pence in his home state.

On Saturday, Trump called Pence a “man of character, honor and honesty” and “a solid, solid person”.



He and Pence were the “the law and order candidates”, he said, adding that a Trump administration would be far tougher on foreign and domestic terrorism than a White House under his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Pence would also help him restore manufacturing jobs and protect religious freedom, he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Donald Trump and Mike Pence appear with family members. Photograph: Jason Szenes/EPA

Who am I, oh Lord, to have been brought this far? I’m a small town boy from southern Indiana Mike Pence

In words likely to be welcomed by evangelical supporters of Pence – who signed and then amended a controversial religious freedom law in Indiana in 2015 – Trump said he would follow the Republican policy platform and seek to repeal the Johnson amendment in the IRS tax code. The amendment prohibits not-for-profit tax-exempt entities, including religious organisations, from taking political positions without risk of losing their tax exempt status.

“We’re going to let the people of faith speak,” Trump said. “The people who live in fear that they’re going to lose their tax exempt status. Religion is going to have a voice – because it has been taken away. We’re going to bring it back.”

Trump said Pence’s selection was partially driven by a desire to promote “party unity”, and said he was happy to learn that the Republican “Never Trump” movement against him had been “crushed” this week, ahead of the convention.

Following Trump, Pence praised the candidate’s pledges to repeal Obamacare, revive the coal industry and toughen the nation’s immigration policy. He also invoked his small-town roots.

“I am deeply humbled and thank God for his amazing grace,” Pence said. “These are good people and Donald Trump gets it. Who am I, oh Lord, to have been brought this far? I’m a small town boy from southern Indiana who has a front row seat to the American dream.”

Neither Trump nor Pence made note of their policy differences. The Indiana governor has been an advocate of trade deals such as Nafta and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump opposes, and has also criticized Trump’s proposed temporary ban on foreign Muslims entering the US, calling the idea “offensive and unconstitutional”.

Mike Pence to appear at Trump-skeptic Koch brothers' fundraiser Read more

In his remarks, Trump said he had been impressed by Pence’s leadership in Indiana, singling out the state’s balanced budget, job growth and education reforms. He made no mention of his own controversial decision to postpone his introduction of Pence, originally scheduled for Friday, after the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice.

“We’ve witnessed the Islamic horror beyond belief,” he said, “and believe me, that’s going to change. Mike Pence will never be afraid to shout the name of our enemy: radical Islam.”

Trump’s introduction of Pence was preceded by blasts of the Rolling Stones hit You Can’t Always Get What You Want. The pair may also come to reconsider their campaign’s other pre-event music: the fast section of a track by E‎lton John.

For one thing, the British musician is, with spouse David Furnish, parent to two young children – an arrangement the evangelical, anti-gay marriage Pence would certainly oppose.

Furthermore, the song in question has a title that could prove awkward if the Trump-Pence ticket fails to generate the necessary campaign-trail chemistry: Funeral for a Friend.