Essential question
How important is the vice presidential nominee in a presidential election?
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump chose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his vice president, despite the two disagreeing on a number of political and social issues. Pence has served as governor of Indiana since 2012, and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years.
Pence hails from the Republican establishment while Trump has been deemed the brash outsider from New York. Pence is anti-abortion and originally supported Indiana’s Religious Freedom law—which allowed businesses to discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community. Trump has been more supportive of LGBTQ issues, and while he now says he is pro-life, recognizes the health services that Planned Parenthood provides for many women.
On matters of foreign policy, Pence called Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigrants “offensive” and supports trade deals like NAFTA, which Trump opposes. Pence supported the war in Iraq, which Trump has called one of the worst decisions in U.S. history.
So, what brings these two candidates together? As a running mate for Trump, Pence will be “very valuable and certainly appealing to national Republicans who are uncomfortable with the unpredictability of Trump’s campaign,” according to Brandon Smith of Indiana Public Broadcasting.
Smith said Pence is seen as a “somewhat divisive governor,” likely due to some very conservative stances he has held even in a heavily Republican state.
Key terms
NAFTA—North American Free Trade Agreement is an agreement among the United States, Canada and Mexico designed to remove tariff barriers between the three countries.
talking points—a succinct statement designed to support persuasively one side of an issue in debate