When Trump finally announced that Pence would be his running mate on Saturday morning, he did so hesitatingly, to say the least. The very concept of Pence seemed to bore him and Trump instead spent 28 rambling minutes talking about everything he could that wasn’t Mike Pence, who he picked because he looks like a Lego Bobby Knight. When Pence finally took the stage, something seemed off, which is to say that he seemed like a regular old vice presidential candidate.
Before heading back to Indiana, Pence did a joint interview with Trump on 60 Minutes. In the interview Trump, Pence, and interviewer Lesley Stahl, seated in chairs that Caesar Flickerman would describe as “a bit much,” discussed everything from ISIS, the War in Iraq (which Trump claims to have opposed and Pence voted for), party unity, and Trump’s claim that John McCain isn’t a war hero because he was captured. In most instances, Trump answered, directing the question back to himself and away from himself—in one, he and Stahl had a fairly long conversation about Pence as if he wasn’t sitting right there—and, when questions were directed to Pence, Trump barged in, talked over him, or, cautiously gave him permission to speak.
The McCain question sums up the entire interview:
Pence: “... John McCain.”
Stahl: “Did he [meaning Trump] go too far?”
Pence: [nervously looking at Trump] “Umm...”
Trump: [Reassuringly] “You can say yes.”
This may help explain why Pence decided to eat his feelings at 4pm at Chili’s.
Busy weekend in NY! Enjoying a quick dinner with the family at @Chilis. Looking forward to getting back to Indiana. pic.twitter.com/SUFjYcvQpH
— Mike Pence (@mike_pence) July 16, 2016