Whether he sets foot onstage with Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump is very likely to find himself engaged in some sort of debate this fall — with his running mate.
It's not that Trump and vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence are publicly sparring. (Try to imagine Pence sparring. Go ahead. We don't have nearly enough imagination.) It's that, rather than embrace a joint message, they seem to be running two distinct, parallel campaigns, often relating two very distinct, entirely unrelated — and sometimes opposite — points of view.
Here's how that usually works: The Indiana governor will watch a Trump comment explode across the media firmament. He’ll wait a decent interval — as long as several days — before issuing a response that either reframes the Republican nominee’s central point as the exact opposite of what he actually said or stakes out a different position entirely. And then, within minutes or hours, Trump will do the same — in reverse. (More on that below. A lot more.)
The fact that the distance between their respective messages is sometimes wide enough to drive a campaign bus through isn't a huge shock. That's not just because of their stark differences in biography and temperament. Or the reality that the main thing the two seem to have in common is that they both want Donald Trump to become president of the United States. It's because Pence has spent his career — up to and including the period after his selection as Trump's VP — advocating policies and supporting individuals that the nominee hasn't, and doesn't (at least: not while he's been running for president).
If you're having trouble picturing what that sort of debate might look and sound like, we've got a preview. Here are nearly a dozen positions Trump has advocated, starting with the beginning of his campaign last year and working through to the present, that Pence — hasn't. And vice versa.
— Free trade
What Trump said: He's not a fan. His opposition to current and negotiated trade agreements is a cornerstone of his campaign.
Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
The incompetence of our current administration is beyond comprehension. TPP is a terrible deal.
3:46 PM - 5 Oct 2015
3,026 3,026 Retweets 4,799 4,799 likes
What Pence has said: The opposite thing.
Follow
Governor Mike Pence ✔ @GovPenceIN
Trade means jobs, but trade also means security. The time has come for all of us to urge the swift adoption of the Trans Pacific Partnership
12:37 PM - 8 Sep 2014
1,380 1,380 Retweets 796 796 likes
— The Iraq War
What Trump has said: "I’m the only one on this stage that said, ‘Do not go into Iraq. Do not attack Iraq.’ Nobody else on this stage said that," he said at the February 2016 Republican primary debate — and countless times before and since. [There's actually no evidence Trump himself said that. But it's the position he's at least retroactively embracing.]
What Pence has said: He voted to go to war in Iraq.
For what it's worth, Trump told CBS's Lesley Stahl in an interview in July that he "didn't care" about Pence's support for the war: "It's a long time ago. And he voted that way, and they were also misled."
— The Affordable Care Act
Trump says he’s against it, and wants to replace it. So does Pence — but he signed on to a version of Medicaid expansion offered under it.
— A Muslim immigration ban
Donald Trump still stands by his plan to temporarily bar many Muslims from entering the United States, now with varying descriptions — though few details — on which nations would be affected by the ban, and exactly how it would work.
Meanwhile, Mike Pence tweeted this months before he joined the ticket:
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Governor Mike Pence ✔ @GovPenceIN
Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional.
9:30 AM - 8 Dec 2015
12,606 12,606 Retweets 11,739 11,739 likes
He hasn’t deleted it.
— Abortion
What Trump has said: During a town hall interview in April, Trump — who, over the years, has been both a supporter and an opponent of abortion laws — said that there had to be “some form of punishment” for women who had abortions if they were banned nationwide.
Trump: Punish women who get illegal abortions Embed Share Play Video1:55
Responding to a question from MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Republican front-runner Donald Trump said women who have illegal abortions should be punished. Here's where other candidates stand as well. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
What Pence has said: The office of the staunchly (and consistently) antiabortion governor released a statement weighing in on the remarks well before he became Trump's running mate.
That statement was as clear as Trump's hadn't been: “Governor Pence does not agree with the statement made by Donald Trump.” Of course, in the end, not even Donald Trump seemed to agree completely with the statement made by Donald Trump, so it's possible they could be in the same space right now. It's not entirely clear to us — and quite possibly, not to Trump or Pence either.
— Ted Cruz
What Pence said: Ahead of the critical Indiana primary this spring, Pence endorsed the Texas senator's presidential bid (albeit with comments so halfhearted the statement became an instant classic of 2016's fastest-growing genre).
Mike Pence: 'I will be voting for Ted Cruz' Embed Share Play Video1:03
Cautioning that he wasn't "against anybody," Indiana Gov. Mike Pence revealed on The Garrison Radio Program April 29 that he plans to vote for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz in his state's May 3 primary. (WIBC/The Garrison Radio Program)
What Donald Trump said: Well. You know. (Everyone who hasn't been stranded on a desert island knows.) You may also recall that the day after Cruz's convention non-endorsement speech in July, Trump decided it was time to relive such warm and fuzzy primary season moments as his insistence that Cruz's father, Rafael, might have had some sort of ties to President Kennedy's assassin, maybe.
Now, all of the above — along with much of Trump's Cruz criticism — happened before Pence climbed on board the Trump Train. He's riding it now. But that doesn't mean both members of the GOP ticket always seem to be rolling along on the same track.
— Gay rights
What Trump said: "As your President, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology," Trump said during his nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. After the audience applauded, he added: "I must say, as a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said. Thank you." He also said, during the controversy over North Carolina's law that said people were only permitted access to the gender-specific bathroom that corresponded to the gender they were born with, that people should "use the bathroom they feel is appropriate."
What Pence has said: Pence doesn't disagree with Trump that gay people shouldn't be targeted because of their sexual orientation. But to the gay community, he is the face of state laws they think are designed to discriminate against them, signing a controversial religious freedom bill in 2015. Convergence note: Both he and Trump have said they are personally opposed to same-sex marriage.
But it's fair to say Trump is far more comfortable with a gay-friendly cultural milieu than Pence is.
more at link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/04/introducing-the-donald-trump-mike-pence-divergence-tracker/
