The
Indefensible Mike Pence
Blessed by plexiglass.
OCTOBER
7, 2020 10:54 PM
A fly rests on the head of
US Vice President Mike Pence as he takes notes during the vice presidential
debate against US Democratic vice presidential nominee and Senator from
California Kamala Harris in Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah on October
7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Eric BARADAT / AFP) (Photo by ERIC
BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)
The necessity of
plexiglass at the 2020 vice presidential debate tonight should have been enough
to disqualify Vice President Mike Pence—who, recall, also serves as the White
House’s Coronavirus Task Force chairman—from a second term. But just as he has
done throughout the last four years, from the moment he joined the ticket with
Donald Trump, Pence soldiered on with his phony act.
In the debate tonight
with Senator Kamala Harris, Pence projected concern. Instead of providing
straightforward answers about his record, he deflected—thrusting responsibility
on the American people, saying he trusted them to “make choices in the best
interest of their health.” Pence thanked supporters for their prayers for the
president, who hours earlier said, bizarrely, that it was a “blessing from God” that he contracted
coronavirus.
At first glance, Pence’s
performance seemed merely absurd. But it’s far more disturbing when you
consider the space Pence occupies.
He’s been an active
participant in the rise and spread of coronavirus. The Trump-Pence ticket has
toured the country and packed people into rallies. The Republican National
Committee held the White House lawn convention, breaking norms and health
recommendations with abandon. He clapped along like everyone else at the
superspreader event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. He’s not
quarantining—in fact, he’s planning a MAGA event at the Villages in Florida this
weekend.
The horrific death toll
hasn’t stopped him, not one bit. Pence remains unfazed.
How can he be so numb?
Well, it took practice.
To become vice
president, Pence—who had been the kind of Republican who preached about
morality and virtue—looked past all Trump’s sordid scandals and sleazy smears.
For the past four years, he has dutifully played the role of the suited
Stepford man, nodding along pleasantly during Trump’s unhinged speeches. He
stood by Trump’s side as Muslims were banned, as children were separated from
their parents, as white supremacists were elevated, as peaceful protesters in
Lafayette Square were tear-gassed.
So it wasn’t hard for
Pence not to blink when confronted with the wretched death toll of 210,000 dead
from COVID. He is accustomed to such things by now. Nothing can shock him.
Nothing can move him.
In a way, this
demonstrates the depth of the problem we face: Even if Trump loses by a massive
margin in November, Mike Pence will still be hanging around on the periphery,
trying to position himself to run for the presidency himself. Looking back on
the wreckage of the last four years, some people have suggested the creation of
something like a truth and reconciliation commission. That’s not likely, for
any number of reasons, but we do need at least to find a way to ask this hard
question: How can we allow people—like Pence—who were responsible for our
egregious COVID death toll to continue in public life?
His tenure is
indefensible.
Mike Pence shouldn’t
have even been at the debate tonight. A good man would have resigned already.
But Trump’s White House is no place for good men and Mike Pence still wants to
be in it.
