Last night, Mike Pence spent an hour and a half pretending like his running mate was anyone other than Donald Trump. Pence denied Trump had said a multitude of offensive statements (he has), blatantly lied about Clinton-Kaine policies and overall ignored any question asking him to answer for Trump (which is his job as VP candidate last time we checked).
Fact checkers and columnists pointed out Mike Pence’s approach of running away from his running mate–“Trump Never Said Those Things He Said.”
Washington Post Fact Checker: Fact-checking the vice-presidential debate between Kaine and Pence
“Donald Trump during his campaign has called Mexicans rapists and criminals. He’s called women slobs, pigs, dogs, disgusting. I don’t like saying that in front of my wife and my mother. He attacked an Indiana-born federal judge and said he was unqualified to hear a federal lawsuit because his parents were Mexican. He went after John McCain, a POW, and said he wasn’t hero because he’d been captured. He said African-Americans are living in hell. And he perpetrated this outrageous and bigoted lie that President Obama is not a U.S. citizen. … And we don’t think that women should be punished, as Donald Trump said they should, for making the decision to have an abortion.”
—Kaine
Trump has, indeed, said all of those things.
USA Today: Fact check: Pence vs. Kaine in the VP debate
“Pence said ‘that’s nonsense’ after Kaine claimed Trump was proposing a ‘deportation force’ to ‘go house to house’ and send away millions of immigrants who are here illegally. Trump did say that.”
Politico: 6 things Trump definitely said that Pence claimed he didn’t
Scored on accuracy, however, Pence fares far worse. The main tenet of his strategy was to deny that Trump ever said these things to begin with — despite the fact that many of the statements were both real and a part of the public record.
Washington Post: Mike Pence can’t believe Tim Kaine would insult Donald Trump by quoting him
What were those insults Kaine was leveling? Here’s what he said immediately prior:
• “Donald Trump during his campaign has called Mexicans rapists and criminals.” This is true. Trump said during his campaign announcement that when Mexico “send its people” that “[t]hey’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
• “He’s called women slobs, pigs, dogs, disgusting. I don’t like saying that in front of my wife and my mother.” Trump called Rosie O’Donnell a slob and a pig in 2007. He called O’Donnell a degenerate. He called Arianna Huffington a dog on Twitter.
• “He attacked an Indiana-born federal judge and said he was unqualified to hear a federal lawsuit because his parents were Mexican.” This happened earlier this year.
• “He went after John McCain, a POW, and said he wasn’t a hero because he’d been captured.” This isn’t exactly what Trump said. Trump said that McCain wasn’t a hero — but if he was, it’s because he was captured.
• “He said African Americans are living in hell.” Trump said this last week.
• “And he perpetrated this outrageous and bigoted lie that President Obama is not a U.S. citizen.” Trump hinted that President Obama might not be a citizen for years, from 2011 until January of this year.
There are no insults there by Kaine about Trump. Those are things Trump said.
Huffington Post: Mike Pence To America: Trump Never Said Those Things He Said
Donald Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R), spent much of the first and only vice presidential debate Tuesday night doing his damnedest to get Americans to forget all of the offensive things Trump has said.Pence repeatedly tried to skirt around statements Trump actually said — or simply shook his head and ignored the question.
“I’m happy to defend [Trump],” Pence said.
But Pence rarely actually defended Trump. Instead, he dodged or outright denied his running mate’s statements.
U.S. News & World Report: Pence in Fantasy Land
But the most striking facet of the evening was how much Pence tried to pretend that the man leading his ticket, former reality television star Donald Trump, is either a conventional Republican or not in the race at all.
In this alternate universe – one I think Speaker of the House Paul Ryan also frequently visits – Trump has not insulted just about everyone who isn’t a member of his family, hasn’t cozied up to Russia and hasn’t laid out plans that would do great damage to the American economy. When Pence wasn’t outright lying about what his running mate has said, he simply ignored Trump’s designs for the country entirely.
NBC News: Split Decision: How Pence Helped Pence While Kaine Helped Clinton
Fact-checking the debate: Three times when Pence denied saying something that either he or Trump had actually said (or close to it)
And there’s a very good chance that Democrats end up winning the post-debate spin war after looking at the tale of the tape. There were at least three times when Pence denied or questioned that either he or Trump said something they actually said.
Example #1
KAINE: Donald Trump during his campaign has called Mexicans rapists and criminals. He’s called women slobs, pigs, dogs, disgusting… He attacked an Indiana-born federal judge and said he was unqualified to hear a federal lawsuit because his parents were Mexican. He went after John McCain, a POW, and said he wasn’t hero because he’d been captured… And he perpetrated this outrageous and bigoted lie that President Obama is not a U.S. citizen.
[snip]
PENCE: To be honest with you, if Donald Trump had said all of the things that you’ve said he said in the way you said he said them, he still wouldn’t have a fraction of the insults that Hillary Clinton leveled when she said that half of our supporters were a basket of deplorables. It’s — she said they were irredeemable, they were not American.
The record: When Trump announced his presidential bid, he said: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” Trump did say a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against him had a conflict of interest because of his Mexican heritage. Trump criticized McCain for being captured in war: “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” And Trump did lead the “birther” crusade.
Example #2
KAINE: Well, this is one where we can just kind of go to the tape on it. But Governor Pence said, inarguably, Vladimir Putin is a better leader than President Obama.
PENCE: That is absolutely inaccurate.
KAINE: And — and — and I just think a guy who praises…
PENCE: He said he’s stronger — he’s been stronger on the world stage.
KAINE: No, he said leader. And if — and I’ll just say this, Governor.
PENCE: You just said better.
The record: Pence’s original quote wasn’t referring to the world stage, and he said that Putin has been a “stronger leader” than Obama. But he didn’t say “better” leader. Here’s what Pence has said: “I think it’s inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country. And that’s going to change the day that Donald Trump becomes president.” And here’s what Trump has said on the matter: “Certainly, in that system, [Putin has] been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader.”
Example #3
PENCE: I’m very, very happy to defend Donald Trump. If he wants to take these one at a time, I’ll take them one at a time.
QUIJANO: I will give you an opportunity to do that.
KAINE: More nations should get nuclear weapons. Try to defend that.
PENCE: Don’t put words in my mouth. Well, he never said that, Senator.
The record: Back in a March debate, Trump did seem to suggest that more nations should have nuclear weapons, but he also appeared to contradict himself in the answer. The transcript:
TRUMP At some point we have to say, you know what, we’re better off if Japan protects itself against this maniac in North Korea, we’re better off, frankly, if South Korea is going to start to protect itself, we have…
COOPER: Saudi Arabia, nuclear weapons?
TRUMP: Saudi Arabia, absolutely.
COOPER: You would be fine with them having nuclear weapons?
TRUMP: No, not nuclear weapons, but they have to protect themselves or they have to pay us. Here’s the thing, with Japan, they have to pay us or we have to let them protect themselves.
COOPER: So if you said, Japan, yes, it’s fine, you get nuclear weapons, South Korea, you as well, and Saudi Arabia says we want them, too?
TRUMP: Can I be honest with you? It’s going to happen, anyway. It’s going to happen anyway. It’s only a question of time. They’re going to start having them or we have to get rid of them entirely.
And here’s what Trump said in an April 3, 2016 Fox interview:
TRUMP: So, North Korea has nukes. Japan has a problem with that. I mean, they have a big problem with that. Maybe they would in fact be better off if they defend themselves from North Korea.
WALLACE: With nukes?
TRUMP: Maybe they would be better off — including with nukes, yes, including with nukes.