Mike Pence’s conveniently timed disappearing act
Remember Mike Pence? You know, the guy occupying the office of Vice President of the United States. You surely recall the white haired jackass who flew across country to attend an NFL game just so he could walk out before it began, in an effort to win over Donald Trump’s racist base. Perhaps you’ve forgotten about Pence, as he conveniently went underground when leaders of his own party began calling for Trump’s ouster. There’s a reason for that.
Actually, it stems from the same reason three Republican Senators chose this past week to begin trying to sell the public on the idea that Donald Trump has to go. Trump is out of gas. Even his own base, still clinging to faint hope and dutifully saying “yes” when the approval rating pollsters come calling, has little left in the tank. Trump’s people didn’t bother to turn out for Luther Strange in Alabama, because they can see by now that whatever they hoped Trump’s mission would be in office, he’s not getting anywhere with it.
There’s no better sign of Trump’s increasingly toxic radioactivity than the fact that it’s spread to Mike Pence. Ed Gillespie,the Republican running for Governor of Virginia, doesn’t want Trump anywhere near him. Pence came down and campaigned with him instead. The event only drew a fraction of the number of people expected, leaving local party leaders to blame it on – you can’t make this up – a tractor pull at the local fair (link). The point is, Trump is so thoroughly out of gas, it’s rubbed off on Pence. It’s also clearly rubbed off on the Republican Senate.
Even as stalwart Senate Republican leaders Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, and John McCain all step up and give Donald Trump a shove toward the door, Mike Pence has decided to disappear. It’s never wise to insert yourself into a public discussion about whether your boss should be fired, when everyone knows you stand to inherit the job. Pence is smartly laying low. He’s just not smart enough to figure out that Trump’s Russia scandal has already doomed them both.
