Donald Trump and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence appeared on stage for the
first time as a presidential and vice-presidential ticket Saturday,
warning Americans about the perils of electing Hillary Clinton and
vowing to make the country safe and prosperous again.
“I am here to introduce the man who will be my
partner in the campaign and in the White House to fix the rigged
system,” Trump said at a Hilton hotel in New York City. “I found a
leader who will help us deliver a safe society and a prosperous
society.”
Before bringing Pence on stage, Trump delivered a
blistering stump speech that touted his agenda and attacked Clinton, the
presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. The real estate mogul
argued that Clinton's failures as secretary of state have led to a rise
in global terror attacks that are destroying the world.
“The Middle East is out of control,” said Trump, who
planned to hold an event Friday announcing Pence as his running mate but
was forced to postpone it because of Thursday's terror attack in Nice,
France, that killed at least 84 people.
“Hillary Clinton led (President) Obama right down a
horrible path. … Iraq, Syria, horrible," Trump said. "Now we’re seeing
unrest in Turkey.”
Trump instead tweeted on Friday that he’d selected
the 57-year-old Pence, taking away much of the drama that typically
comes with announcing a vice presidential nominee.
“I thank Donald Trump for having the confidence in
us. I accept your invitation to run and serve as vice president of the
United States,” Pence said Saturday.
“Let’s come together as a party, as a movement, to
make America great again," Pence also said, while suggesting that he
knew as early as Wednesday that he would be the nominee.
Pence, who also acknowledged growing up as a Democratic supporter, called Trump a “builder, a fighter and a patriot."
“Americans can choose a leader who will fight to make
America great again, or we can elect someone who personifies failed
establishment,” he said. “Seven-and-a-half years of Obama and Hillary
Clinton weakened the world.”
He said Trump wants to cut taxes while Clinton plans
to raise them and that Trump wants to repeal ObamaCare “lock, stock and
barrel,” while Clinton is pushing a progressive agenda to expand
government-backed, mandatory health insurance.
The selection of Pence, who went from dark horse to
leading contender in a matter of days, should help Trump galvanize
support from the party’s conservative base ahead of the Republican
National Convention, which starts Monday in Cleveland.
Pence, a former member of the House Republican
leadership, was among a handful of finalists in a public vetting process
that included meetings and campaign events with New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
He was selected from a relatively small short-list of
candidates -- those liked by Trump and willing to stake their political
future on the unconventional and unpredictable White House contender.
Top Trump advisers vigorously denied reports that
Trump considered making a late change, with campaign chairman Paul
Manafort saying Trump "never waffled once he made his decision."
Despite the claim, the Clinton campaign on Saturday
released a web video contrasting clips of Trump touting his decisiveness
with the timeline of the past few days. As the video ends, the words on
the screen read, "Donald Trump. Always Divisive. Not so Decisive."
And Trump said Saturday that he locked onto Pence in
early May when he won Indiana’s presidential primary, in large part due
to Pence’s fiscal record -- delivering a balanced budget, creating a $2
million state surplus and allowing Indiana to have a AAA bond rating.
“That’s as good as it gets. The turnaround has been
incredible,” said Trump, calling Pence’s early support for Texas GOP
Sen. Ted Cruz his “single, greatest non-endorsement.”
Pence, who emerged relatively late in the vice
presidential stakes, almost immediately gives the Trump campaign
much-needed social conservative credentials without the kind of
political baggage that Democrats had hoped to exploit in other finalists
like Christie or Gingrich.
Still, the Clinton campaign has already gone on the attack, calling Pence “the most extreme pick in a generation.”
Pence, who spent 12 years in Congress and until
Friday was in a tough gubernatorial re-election bid, could also help
Trump with critical fundraising, considering his general election
campaign has roughly $1.3 million in the bank as of the last filing.
Clinton’s campaign has $42 million and a network of donors assembled through the candidate’s lengthy career in politics.
Pence’s deputy chief of staff was a former spokesman
for Koch Industries, and his chief of staff in Congress later ran the
Koch brothers’ political umbrella organization.
Still, Pence is not without some negatives,
particularly his handling last year of the so-called Religious Freedom
Restoration Act.
The original law allowed Indiana residents and
companies being sued by a private party to cite their religious beliefs
as a defense. The national criticism was so damaging that it forced
Pence and the state legislature to revise the law to clearly prohibit
businesses from denying services to customers based on their sexual
preference or gender choice.
Some supporters thought Trump had top-tier candidates
in Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, and first-term Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who might have helped
Trump better connect with women voters.
However, both dropped out earlier this month. Corker declined after appearing with Trump at only one campaign event.
Pence, a Catholic, earned a law degree from Indiana
University in 1986 and ran two unsuccessful congressional campaigns
before getting elected in 2000.