No presidential candidate sounded more wooden and defensive during the Republican primary debate than former Vice President Mike Pence. His arguments sounded like the same stale points on abortion that Republican politicians always do.
His strongest points came when he responded to comments by Vivek Ramaswamy about whether he could pardon Donald Trump for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
Ramaswamy called on Pence to commit to pardoning Trump as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has promised to do.
“I don’t know you assume that Donald Trump will be convicted of these crimes,” Pence replied. “I’ve actually given pardons when I was governor of the state of Indiana. It usually follows a finding of guilt and contrition by the individual that’s been convicted. So look, if I’m president of the United States, we’ll give fair consideration to any pardon request.”
Pence continued, “I would rather they have been resolved by the American people and the American people alone, but no one’s above the law and President Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence that every American is entitled to and we will make sure and extend that to him.”
When asked if he would support Trump if he becomes the Republican nominee, Pence tepidly raised his hand.
Pence stated last month during a CNN interview that he thought Trump’s actions were reckless but not criminal.
Mike Pence Offers Stiff Defense to Ramaswamy on Ukraine
Pence clashed with Ramaswamy about whether Russia and the Soviet Union were the same entity after Pence invoked the Reagan Doctrine to justify American involvement in Ukraine. Under the Reagan Doctrine, the U.S. pledged to support anti-Communist insurgents wherever they were.
“Well, let me be clear. Anybody that thinks that we can’t solve the problems here in the United States and be the leader of the free world has a pretty small view of the greatest nation on earth,” Pence said. ‘We can do both, Vivek. We’ve done both. We’ve been the leader of the free world in the arsenal of democracy for years. The Reagan doctrine years ago made it clear.”
Pence continued, “Vivek, if we do the giveaway that you want to give to Putin to give him his land, it’s not going to be too long before he rolls across a NATO border, and frankly, our men and women of our armed forces are going to have to go and fight him. I want to let the Ukrainians fight and drive Putin and the Russians back out into Russia so our troops aren’t going to have to make that fight.”
Ramaswamy, following the suggestion of some on the right who believe that Russia can be separated from China, rebutted Pence, claiming that his strategy further solidified the Russo-Chinese military alliance.
“China will not think about taking Taiwan. We achieve peace through strength,” Pence responded.
Pence’s Unrealistic Take on Abortion
When it came to abortion Pence took a doctrinaire stance, suggesting that the federal government should ban abortion in all 50 states. His position failed to remember the old dictum about legislating morality. Unless the people support such a ban, that ban likely will be overturned by the next Congress.
“Seventy percent of the American people support legislation to ban abortion after a baby is capable of experiencing pain,” Pence said. “It’s just going to take leadership.”
Mike Pence Fanciful on Abolishing Department of Education
Pence proved fanciful when it came to the abolition of the Department of Education. Even Ronald Reagan failed to do that.
“We’re going to extend those tax cuts and we’re going to close the Federal Department of Education, block grants, all that funding back to the states with a growing economy and educational choice and law enforcement. We will bring our cities back,” Pence said.
The debate offered a window into why the Republican Party failed prior to Trump, and Pence personified it. It failed because its politicians waxed academic and talked about things they had no idea how to accomplish. They meted out empty promises, then Donald Trump came along and promised a different way.
Pence showed when he was governor of Indiana that he lacked the leadership skills to get things done. Trump chose him precisely because he was weak and would not overshadow him.
John Rossomando is a defense and counterterrorism analyst and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
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