Republican Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence won’t call former KKK leader David Duke deplorable. Instead, he said he just doesn’t want Duke’s support.
“I have no idea why this man keeps coming up,” Pence said during a press conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning. “Donald Trump and I have denounced David Duke repeatedly. We have said that we do not want his support and we do not want the support of people who think like him.”
Pence was asked about Duke on CNN Monday and refused to call him deplorable. He was asked again Tuesday, but repeated his refrain.
“The simple fact is that I am not in the name-calling business,” Pence said.
Pence’s visit to Capitol Hill Tuesday was a kind of homecoming. Pence served in the House of Representatives for more than a decade before becoming governor of Indiana, and unlike when Trump came to visit House Republicans in July, Pence was warmly welcomed by the GOP conference.
“It was very positive. I didn’t sense anything negative at all,” said Rep. Peter King (R-NY). “I got to say when Donald came in in July, there was still a little bit of skepticism. I would say most of that is gone today.”
Pence served as a kind of spokesman for Trump’s character. During the closed-door meeting, several members recounted later, Pence told humanizing stories about Trump’s affinity for those on his campaign team as well as service workers at various campaign stops and restaurants around the country.
“You hear a very different sort of interpretation of the man Donald Trump than you would typically see in our news cycle,” said Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ). “Mike talked about on a couple of occasions just how focused Donald Trump was on individuals, people who work for him, just those sort of moments of kindness.”
But members did push Pence on one area. According to King, one member stood up and asked Pence if Trump was going to be able to improve his standing with women.
Pence pointed Republicans in the conference meeting to two recent polls apparently showing Trump improving his numbers at least with married women. He then drew attention to a speech Trump will give later today on paid family leave.
The meeting also addressed Trump’s affect on down ballot races. According to members in the room, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) showed members polling that Trump was having little negative affect on races across the country and in some cases was even helping.
But the biggest takeaway was that unlike meetings past when Trump was sometimes seen as combative or off message behind closed doors, Pence gave members a sense of calm as they prepare to depart Washington and campaign for themselves and a man many still don’t know very well.
“We may not know Donald Trump, but we know Mike Pence and we’re glad Pence is there,” said Dennis Ross (R-FL).
