Trump Picks Indiana Governor Mike Pence For VP

After several weeks of vetting potential candidates for his open VP spot, the search is finally coming to an end. Donald Trump has made his choice. Advisors for his campaign have signaled that they will soon announce Indiana Governor Mike Pence as Donald’s presidential sidekick. This comes as a surprise to many, as the Trump campaign seemed to be signaling a last minute indecisiveness during the past week.

The New York Times reports:

Mr. Trump himself has sent conflicting signals in recent days, as he has subjected his potential running mates to a final round of screening. He addressed a rally in Indiana alongside Mr. Pence on Tuesday night and met privately with him several times. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump and his children threw together a hasty series of conversations with other finalists in the vice-presidential search, including Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker.

We had made the prediction earlier this week that Donald would select Newt Gingrich as his running mate based on his mutual contract termination with Fox News, but that could have easily been a last minute effort by Newt to show the seriousness of his resolve to Trump; rather than the sure sign of a done deal. Pence and Gingrich are both “safe” choices for the conservative ideologue, but the Indiana governor has demonstrably less “baggage” — having never been involved in a scandal of any kind, married to the same woman for over 30 years, etc. — and is thus the more ethically-minded choice.

Mike Pence seems to be a run-of-the-mill, “cookie-cutter” conservative when it comes to policy positions. His selection is likely meant as a signal to the rank-and-file Republican grassroots that Donald is on their side.  Whether the duo will be a friend to liberty (doubtful) remains to be seen.