Is Pence Prepping To Take Over For Trump?A Boston Globe columnist seems to think so
By AARON BANDLER
July 13, 2017
Is Vice President Mike Pence preparing to take the reins of the presidency from Donald Trump? One Boston Globe? columnist seems to think that he is.
Renée Graham's Tuesday column, titled Mike Pence Looks Like He’s Ready to Pounce on the Presidency, argues that Pence likely took the position as Trump's running mate last year because he thought "the chaotic Trump campaign" would give way to "a calamitous Trump presidency."
Graham points out that Pence is starting to makes moves that one would expect of someone running for re-election:
The New York Times recently reported that Pence is chatting with deep-pocketed money men like Charles Koch, and hosting dinners with his wife, Karen, for wealthy donors at the vice president’s mansion. In May, Pence launched his own PAC, the “Great America Committee.” While its name echoes Trump’s campaign slogan, no previous sitting vice president has ever formed such a separate political organization. An unnamed Pence surrogate told NBC News that any chatter that the PAC is meant to bolster the veep’s 2020 plans is misguided.
Graham also noted that while Pence has gotten a lawyer to protect himself from the Russia investigation, he seems to be acting like the Trump-Russia collusion allegations won't affect him politically.
Naturally, Graham proceeds to attack Pence as "a hard-line theocrat with more respect for the Bible than the Constitution":
As a US congressman, then Indiana’s governor, he proposed policies that threatened the lives and rights of women and the LGBT community. Even in a reliably red state, Pence’s medieval beliefs, especially a so-called “religious freedom” law to legalize discrimination, were so denounced that the Indianapolis Star ran a front-page editorial under the massive headline “FIX THIS NOW.” The state legislature eventually watered down the anti-LGBT language enough to curtail the economic backlash.
This will most certainly be the line of attack from the Left if President Trump is taken down by the Russia scandal and is replaced by Pence. Nevertheless, Graham admits that Pence is much more calm and steady than Trump, which would make him seem refreshing by comparison.
There may be something to Graham's line of thinking, as Pence's statement on Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian attorney seems like he's attempting to distance himself from the whole situation, although this is something that Pence's spokesperson denies. It's possible that Pence is looking out for himself regardless, or he has bigger plans in mind.
It's certainly too early to know if Trump will somehow eventually be taken down by the Russia investigation, but Pence just might be preparing himself to take over the presidency just in case things go sideways.
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