What is the likelihood that Mike Pence already has his “ducks in a row” if and when Trump steps down? Speech ready? New Vice President picked? With whom would he be able to privately plan for such a scenario?
Every VP should have such a contingency plan.
Given his years of experience in politics, it wouldn’t surprise me if Pence was more prepared to replace Trump than Trump was prepared to replace Obama.
I would argue that he’s already stepped in (it).
Heck, it wouldn’t even be secret or private. I’m fairly sure there is an SOP on this sitting in some safe or file cabinet somewhere, most likely constantly updated as things change. He probably doesn’t have an exact speech written, as no one would know the exact circumstance, but the outline? Yeah, it’s there already. That’s the whole purpose of having a VP. There is, most likely, similar things for the whole line of succession.
Indeed. Will he be the White Knight, riding in to save the GOP from their flirtation with The Donald? Or will he be considered clueless? Or contaminated?
Anyway, I’m sure His VP Choice has already been discussed in discreet meetings, far from The Donald. Will that VP be the next Gerald Ford?
After seeing Pence’s cemetery photo op, I’m more convinced than ever that he is positioning himself as the White Knight Alterna-Trump. And he is doing a good job at it.
He has stepped in. He’s the one attending NATO conferences while Trump holds rallies and whines about protestors on Twitter.
Pence is the stalwart Republican wet dream. He’s far too conservative to ever be elected on his own, but the power brokers probably far prefer him over the loose cannon of Trump.
I’m an independent that wouldn’t vote for Pence on his policies in a million years, would gladly welcome him to drop the “vice” part and move on straight to being President. He won’t start a stupid war, understands how government works, actually has beliefs vs whims (much as I disagree with his core beliefs), doesn’t have a bromance with Putin, nor a Bannon echo chamber, ad nausea.
I’m pretty sure every VP has a constant ongoing 4-year-long or 8-year-long train of thought about, “OK, if I were to become president right this moment, here’s what I’d do…” and when watching POTUS giving speeches, pushing an agenda, etc., thinking about how he’d do it differently than POTUS.
If Pence were to step up to the plate right this moment I think he’d get accustomed to the job in mere days or hours.
I wouldn’t put it past Pence to start viewing Frank Underwood as a role model, and seeing what can be done discretely to make Trumps stay in the white house a short one.
I’m curious what the Board’s Republicans and conservatives think about Mike Pence.
Conservative columnist George Will is not over-pleased with our Vice President. He discusses his views on MSNBC.
What say Republican Dopers about this model Christian? Infinitely better than any Democrat?
I’m not a Republican or Conservative although I support certain ideas that might be called conservative, few of which overlap at all with the ideologies of someone like Mike Pence. What Pence is, in common parlance, is a bitch. Trump’s choice of Pence to be his running mate was a smart choice, similar to how it would have been if he’d picked Ted Cruz, except without Cruz’s extremely whiny voice and perpetual ‘resting bitch face.’ He shored up the Evangelical vote, letting them say, “hey, if this guy is with Trump, I can be with Trump.”
From purely a standpoint of optics, Pence is the perfect second-in-command, “supporting actor to the lead”, type of character, a perfect “straight man” (no pun intended) to a flamboyant personality like Donald Trump. It’s a character common in movies and on TV, in concept, physicality, and mannerism. Stocky, square-headed and silver-haired, with a face that seems to say “confidence and competence”, he looks not unlike a younger John McCain, and his voice matches. (During the VP debate with Kaine, the whole time I was looking at Pence thinking “this guy is such a brick wall compared to his goofy-sounding opponent”, even though I disagreed with every single thing he said.)
As a guy, though, he is a bitch, aptly described as a “toady” by Will’s article, all too happy to be in a subordinate role to Trump while attaboying him and giving an “amen” to his pronouncements and generally polishing his balls. This is why he appeals to evangelical fundementalist Christians, as well, because they themselves tend to like these kind of people. Every pompous arrogant hypocritical Middle American scripture-touting but spiritually-vacant wheeler-dealer from Oklahoma to Ohio wishes he had a Mike Pence of his own to fetch him coffee and sit in the corner while they bone his wife.
I have no special knowledge in the subject but I would bet a reasonable sum of money on the idea that Pence already had his acceptance speech, his cabinet, his first 100 days, and (if not on paper, at least the basic thrust of) stump speeches for all the different things that may have taken Trump out, be it money laundering, philandering, Russian connections, etc.
Trump is, after all, the President held least likely to make it through his first term for non-health related reasons.
The speech likely includes multiple clauses and Pence will just strike out the ones that don’t apply:
“In light of the recent {death | impeachment | commitment} of Donald Trump after {a chili-dog-related heart attack | a lengthy impeachment process | his repeated use of the NSA to find out who’s been stealing his hydrogen}, I am duty-bound to assume the presidency…”
Pence is way too fanatical, if you think Trump is bad… sheesh.
That is likely why he was picked as VP. To assure that nobody will “martyr” themselves trying to remove Trump.
I am a Republican and I do not want Pence. I get the visual that he will restart the Crusades.
As a politician, Pence is competent. Trump is not.
And as somebody on the internet said:
And the only thing more dangerous to the country than a incompetent idiot is a competent idiot.
Let’s hope that , yes, Pence is ready. Every VP should be ready to replace his boss.That’s his job.
And there is no reason to be embarrassed about it, though the preparations should be done subtly and not in public.
Absolutely no argument there, but that is part of the allure of Trump for many, including myself. Over the other options that were available anyway. A matter of preference I suppose out of lack of options, I would choose the openly and obvious shrewd arrogant businessman than one who espouses borderline religious fanaticism as well as having a job title that ***requires ***constant lying and deceit to massive amounts of people. The hypocrisy of it bothers me a tiny bit. Just thoughts. I’m tired.
Or possibly for health-related reasons, too. With the possible exception of FDR, Trump is the least-healthy President we’ve ever had.
anomalous1, I agree that a shrewd businessman wouldn’t be too bad of a choice. Were you thinking of someone in particular with that description?
Nonsense - JFK, Eisenhower, and Reagan were all significantly less healthy than Trump.
Regards,
Shodan