Vice President Mike Pence’s performance Wednesday, when he insisted that President Donald Trump did nothing wrong during a July call with the Ukrainian President, was so shameless as to provoke reactions from a wide range of political observers.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Pence urged people to read the White House memo of the Zelensky-Trump call, while denying what its contents clearly spell out.
“I don’t believe that’s the case,” Pence said to a reporter who asked about Trump asking China to investigate the Bidens on live television. “The American people should read the transcript and they will see that the President did nothing wrong — there was no pressure there, was no quid pro quo.”
Pence on Ukrainian call pic.twitter.com/lnPd7Ocnhg
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 10, 2019
In fact, the memo released by the White House clearly spells out Trump asking Zelensky for a “favor,” mentioning the Bidens by name.
Pence has good reason for blindly defending the President — his horse is tightly harnessed to Trump’s wagon in this whole scandal, as Pence reportedly personally met with Zelensky to tell him that military aid would be withheld until Trump was assured that he’d root out “corruption” – clearly a nod to Trump’s plea for help manufacturing dirt on Joe Biden.
However, Pence’s efforts at self preservation failed to please some:
A CNN commenter:
Impeach Mike Pence too. https://t.co/Rvup1daNqe
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) October 10, 2019
A Washington Post columnist:
Like I said: Pence has adopted the Sergeant Schultz defense: I know nothing! His protestations of innocence are unconvincing, given that Giuliani publicly proclaimed his desire to get dirt on the Bidens from Ukraine. In @PostOpinions: https://t.co/rujq8fPCYH https://t.co/FzDDmfEUAo
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) October 10, 2019
And an entire segment from a baffled Anderson Cooper:
A good thing mother is there to protect him from all those scary women
Pence is a dead man in a nice suit.
#45? Ignorance is bliss combined with arrogance
Pence? “I’m just playing dumb and you’ll have to prove that I’m not dumb.”
"Donald Trump, with his feral cunning, knew. The oleaginous Mike Pence, with his talent for toadyism and appetite for obsequiousness, could, Trump knew, become America’s most repulsive public figure. And Pence, who has reached this pinnacle by dethroning his benefactor, is augmenting the public stock of useful knowledge. Because his is the authentic voice of today’s lickspittle Republican Party, he clarifies this year’s elections: Vote Republican to ratify groveling as governing." – George Will, May 9, 2018
Mikey is gonna be the most popular Q-Tip in his cellblock…