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I used to feel bad for Mike Pence.
The Indiana governor gave up his re-election bid to become the vice presidential candidate of a baboon.
And as usually happens when attempting to put on a show with animals, not all goes according to plan.
Just last night, Trump appeared on MSNBC at a townhall attended by US service members. And rather than extoll the virtues of the American military, Trump attacked our generals, calling them “rubble,” while saving his praise for Russian President, and near dictator, Vladimir Putin.
Trump didn’t just praise Putin, he suggested that Putin was a popular leader in Russia (where a no-vote can get you killed) and a better leader than President Obama. Trump even jumped to Putin’s defense when NBC’s Matt Lauer mentioned that intelligence experts believe Russia to be behind the recent hack (read: theft) of emails from the Democratic National Committee. Trump responded to Lauer: “Well, nobody knows that for a fact.”
Then, Trump really stepped in it. Trump didn’t simply pick Vladimir Putin’s side against US intelligence, Trump implied that it’s wrong for Americans to criticize Putin since Obama has done things just as bad as Putin (mind you, Putin murderers political opponents). This is something a key aide for Trump also did this past summer in Moscow — suggesting that the US had no moral right to criticize Russia. It’s a charge you might hear on the far left, but never from a Republican.
Here’s the back and forth between Trump and Lauer:
Any sympathy I had for Pence evaporated after he defended Donald Trump’s praise of Vladimir Putin, and in the same breath compare Donald Trump to Ronald Reagan. Oh yes, he did.
From CNN:
“Their styles are different, surely, between Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, but I think both men are truth tellers,” Pence said. “They speak plainly about the failings of the administrations of their time, but they also, I think they both give voice to the aspirations of the American people, that we can be better, we can bet stronger.”
He added that comparison applies to one of his favorite adjectives to describe Reagan: “Humble.”
As Bash questioned how that word could describe a man with his name on so many buildings, Pence said Trump reveals his “humility” in private.
“Ronald Reagan had his name on a lot of marquees. I think at their very core, both men are the kind of leaders that have a core of humility.”
Mike Pence couldn’t be more wrong.
I was a Republican once, then voted for Clinton in 1992 and never looked back. Ronald Reagan is rolling over in his grave at the prospect of Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee, let alone president.
Now, I’ve been a Democrat for 24 years, so far be it for me to defend Ronald Reagan’s legacy. But please. Trump as Reagan? Gag me.
Ronald Reagan, in contrast to Trump, didn’t run on a slogan suggesting that America was no longer great. Rather, Reagan always said our best days were ahead of us — “it’s morning in America,” was Reagan’s 1980 campaign slogan. Donald Trump would have you believe that America, like its generals, is little more than a pile of rubble.
Reagan’s position on the Russians also distinguishes him from Trump. Ronald Reagan wouldn’t have been caught dead saying that a former KGB officer, running Russia like a virtual dictatorship, murdering his political opponents, was a better leader than any American president. Wouldn’t be caught dead.
And Reagan would never take Russia’s side against our own intelligence community. Never.
And finally, can you imagine Ronald Reagan suggesting that America has no moral right to criticize Russia’s brutal domination of its citizens and neighbors? Reagan would have spat on anyone suggesting that America was on a moral par with Russia
The reason I liked Reagan all those years ago was that he was proudly patriotic and a strong leader. When it came to foreign policy especially, Reagan put country first, and was always willing to stand up to the biggest of bullies. And while I’m no longer a Republican, and now find ample fault with many of Reagan’s policies, my advocacy work has always been proudly pro-America and anti-bully — those ideas have always resonated with me, long before Reagan, and still do today.
Ronald Reagan stood up to the Russians, while Donald Trump blows the Russians wet woolies.
Donald Trump is many things, but Ronald Reagan ain’t one of them.
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