Have you ever wondered what Donald Trump’s favorite Twitter exclamation — “Sad! — would look like if it became sentient, wasn’t a huge fan of LGBT rights, and sold its soul for a very slim chance at assuming the presidency? We got to find out when the presumptive Republican nominee sat down with the guy he grudgingly chose as his running mate for a 60 Minutes interview. The result was even more bizarre than the speech introducing Governor Mike Pence on Saturday, in which Trump mainly talked about himself.
The interview starts with Lesley Stahl noting that after months of hammering Hillary Clinton for her vote to authorize the Iraq War, Trump picked a running mate who voted the same way. Apparently, Trump had no answer prepared for this extremely obvious question. “I don’t care,” he declared, “It’s a long time ago. And he voted that way and they were also misled. A lot of information was given to people.” So does that mean Clinton’s off the hook? “No, she’s not,” said Trump.
From there, the interview builds to a crescendo of awkwardness, with Trump giving Pence permission not to insult John McCain, declaring that the Constitution “doesn’t necessarily give us the right to commit suicide, as a country,” and finally informing Stahl, “I think I’m much more humble than you would understand.” Through the entire 20-minute interview, Pence is basically only allowed to nod quietly, smile uncomfortably, or call Trump a “good man.” Chris Christie might have been able to pull off that level of obsequiousness with a certain gusto, but Pence just looks like a hollow, generic Republican-shaped shell.
