Multiple news reports today indicate Donald Trump is expected to name pro-life Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his vice-presidential running mate. The announcement is expectantly officially tomorrow and officials with the Trump campaign caution, as expected, that the decision has not been officially made despite many news reports stating otherwise.
UPDATE: CNN is reporting Trump has officially offered the VP slot to Pence and that the pro-life governor has accepted.
Donald Trump has called Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and offered him the vice presidential slot on his ticket, CNN has learned. Pence has accepted.
On Wednesday, Trump held a series of auditions with Pence and other top contenders including Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich. And on Thursday, despite sources indicating to CNN that Trump was strongly leaning toward Pence, others in his inner circle — including Trump’s son, Donald Jr. — repeatedly urged caution.But by early evening, Trump made the offer.Pence’s selection gives Trump a running mate with strong ties to the Republican base — particularly social conservatives. He was among the first Republicans to embrace the tea party on Capitol Hill.Pence made clear this week that he’s more than willing to play the role of attack dog, strongly criticizing Hillary Clinton during a rally with Trump.Clinton, Pence told the applauding crowd, “must never become president of the United States.”
The Indy Star newspaper in Indianapolis was one of the first to report the news that Trump selected the pro-life advocate from the Hoosier state as his number two:
Gov. Mike Pence is dropping his re-election bid in Indiana to become Donald Trump’s running mate.
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IndyStar has confirmed that Trump plans to announce Pence as his selection for vice president, ending a weeks-long vice presidential casting call during which Trump vetted a handful of high-profile Republicans.
Trump’s national campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said “a decision has not been made.” A formal announcement is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday in Manhattan.
The long-awaited decision upends the political landscape in Indiana and at least partially remakes the Trump campaign in Pence’s image.
In Pence, Trump has added a social conservative who GOP strategists say will reassure rank-and-file Republicans that Trump can be trusted to pursue their interests. Veteran political observers say Pence, a former U.S. House member and chairman of the House Republican Conference, will provide a disciplined counter to Trump’s improvisational campaign style. Pence also brings fundraising power and credibility on a wide range of policy issues that are important to conservatives.
Pence is set to officially become the vice presidential nominee during the Republican National Convention, which starts July 18 in Cleveland. He could become the first vice president from Indiana since Dan Quayle took office in 1989 under George H.W. Bush.
Pence, a pro-life governor hailed by pro-life groups for recently signing a bill to ban abortions targeting babies with Down syndrome, was seen as Donald Trump’s most likely running mate this past week.
In comments to LifeNews.com, one leading pro-life advocate says the reported decision to pick Pecne is a great one for pro-life voters.
“Mr. Trump’s selection of Gov. Mike Pence is an affirmation of the pro-life commitments he’s made and will rally the pro-life grassroots,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Gov. Pence has proven to be a pro-life champion both during his time in Congress and as Governor of Indiana. It was Mike Pence who led the effort to defund Planned Parenthood in Congress, and it was Gov. Pence who signed into law a historic bill protecting unborn children from lethal discrimination in the womb. Mike Pence is a pro-life trailblazer and Mr. Trump could not have made a better choice.”
Dannenfelser said Trump has pledged to advance and sign into law the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, defund Planned Parenthood, and appoint pro-life Justices to the Supreme Court.
Pence is a pro-life champion who has signed multiple pieces of pro-life legislation into law and led the fight in Congress to de-fund Planned Parenthood. His selection would go a long way towards mollifying concerns some pro-life voters have had about Trump, who has campaigned as a pro-life candidate but who has made some misstatements on abortion and Planned Parenthood.
Earlier this year, Pence signed House Bill 1337, which would ban abortion doctors from knowingly aborting an unborn baby solely because of a genetic disability such as Down syndrome, the unborn baby’s race or sex. The bill also has several other abortion-related measures, including a requirement that aborted or miscarried babies’ bodies be cremated or buried and another requirement that abortionists who have hospital admitting privileges renew them annually. The burial/cremation requirement backs up a law passed in 2015 by Gov. Pence requiring that aborted babies’ bodies be disposed of in a humane way.
“Throughout my public career, I have stood for the sanctity of life. HEA 1337 is a comprehensive pro-life measure that affirms the value of all human life, which is why I signed it into law today,” Governor Pence said in a statement.
Pence continued: “I believe that a society can be judged by how it deals with its most vulnerable—the aged, the infirm, the disabled and the unborn. HEA 1337 will ensure the dignified final treatment of the unborn and prohibits abortions that are based only on the unborn child’s sex, race, color, national origin, ancestry, or disability, including Down syndrome.”
He also started a state investigation of the Planned Parenthood abortion business after it was caught selling body parts of aborted babies.
Previously, Pence led the Congressional effort to defund the abortion corporation.
“Reports show that Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider, receives nearly one-third of its $1 billion annual budget from the federal government. And it’s about to get worse, because Obamacare is hiding even more tax dollars in handouts for abortion providers,” Pence explained at the time.
“Nearly 3,500 abortions are performed every day in America. That’s 3,500 lives taken away, many on the government dime without the knowledge or direct approval of taxpayers! It’s reprehensible and we can’t allow it to continue,” Pence added.
Pence referred to the Pledge With America that House Republicans put forward before the elections promising to dismantle ObamaCare, which contains a full prohibition on abortion funding, and to cut off taxpayer funding for abortions in other areas.
“I’m ready to deliver that promise with legislation that will prevent abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from receiving a single dime from the federal government,” the Indiana congressman wrote. “With a new Republican majority, Planned Parenthood is running scared.”
Pence said then he was not surprised Planned Parenthood attacked him for pressing for defunding.
“The fear of losing their federal funding has led them to target me for my pro-life positions. They’ve even named me to their 2010 Election Hall of Shame for advocating a pro-life agenda on Capitol Hill,” he said. “But I refuse to back down.”
“Our tax dollars should not be spent on abortions. I know it. You know it. Let’s make sure every member of Congress knows it,” he concluded.
