Pence Faces His Most Challenging Trump Loyalty Test Yet

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Vice President Pence is under pressure from President Trump to reject the Electoral College results in a ceremony where he is constitutionally bound to announce that President-elect Joe Biden won.

J. Scott Applewhite/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

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J. Scott Applewhite/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

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Trump’s public lobbying and denial of the election outcome — and the anger he has directed at Republicans who have rejected his assertions — put Pence in an unenviable and unprecedented bind.

«Vice President Pence is between the Constitution and President Trump, Goldstein said. «He finds himself in a situation where the president is articulating unfounded and unrealistic and simply wrong expectations of his role, and it’s a very unforgiving president.

During his four years in office, Pence has mastered the art of standing by the president without standing by his words, of conveniently shrinking from view when he’d rather not answer questions about something Trump has said or tweeted, of looking off into the middle distance, expressionless as the president says something extreme, or outlandish or obviously wrong, of praising Trump for saying something the president has never actually said, at least not in public.

So, when Trump first started claiming he had won the election when he hadn’t, Pence tweeted a message that never directly addressed the president’s falsehood, or repeated them.

I Stand With President @realDonaldTrump. We must count every LEGAL vote.

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) November 6, 2020

And, earlier this week, campaigning in Georgia, Pence walked a careful line.

«I share the concerns of millions of Americans about voting irregularities, Pence said. «And I promise you, come this Wednesday, we’ll have our day in Congress. We’ll hear the objections. We’ll hear the evidence.

And that’s true: Republican members of the House and Senate do plan to raise objections, and there will be debate. In the end, though, Biden’s election will be finalized. There are more than enough Democrats and Republicans in both chambers to overrule the objections. Pence’s role isn’t to act as a judge or jury. He essentially just reads the results, as vice presidents have before him — though in his rally speech, Pence stopped short of explaining that, and instead moved on to encourage people to vote in Georgia’s Senate runoffs.

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But this isn’t about Pence, argues Mike DuHaime, a Republican political strategist. This, he said, is about Trump putting a spotlight on Pence over something that should just be ceremonial, passing quietly without much notice.

«Mike Pence was incredibly loyal for four years, plus the campaign before that, really did anything the president asked, even at times where it was probably very difficult for Mike Pence, DuHaime said.

With Trump «you’re only as good as the next loyalty test, DuHaime said. «You have to be perfect 100% of the time or you are going to suffer the wrath.

And that could be a problem for Pence, who is often talked about as a potential 2024 presidential contender, if Trump doesn’t run. If Trump ends up turning on Pence or doesn’t publicly forgive him, then there are people in the Trump base who will never forgive Pence either, DuHaime said.

Goldstein, though, said there are longer-term stakes at play, arguing that Pence will be remembered favorably for following the law and the Constitution.

«If people don’t like you because you refused to break the law or you insisted on telling the truth or following your constitutional and legal duty — shame on them, not shame on you, Goldstein said.