Who Is Mike Pence Anyway?
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Who Is Mike Pence Anyway?

15 facts you should know about Trump's VP pick

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Who Is Mike Pence Anyway?
Huffington Post

So, Donald Trump finally picked a running mate. With big names like Newt Gingrich, John Kasich and Chris Christie floating around, a lot of people were left saying, "Wait -- who?" when Trump announced his VP pick of Indiana Governor Mike Pence earlier this month. You have likely already figured out that Pence is a family man and social conservative, but here are some facts you probably didn't know about the man who could soon be second in command.

1. He's that guy who signed the "religious freedom bill" into law.

Remember the debate last year about the bill that allowed shop owners to deny services to people based on their religious beliefs (aka discriminate against LGBTQ people)? Yeah, that was Pence at the forefront advocating for “religious freedom” which eventually became law in Indiana. Unsurprisingly, he’s also against marriage equality, civil unions and gay people in the military. He also signed a bill that could jail gay couples who attempt to apply for a marriage license in Indiana. His solution? Conversion therapy.

2. He denies global warming.

In an Op-Ed, Pence says that, “Global warming is a myth,” and is an attempt to grow the “liberal environmentalist agenda” and raise taxes. He denies that humans are to blame for emitting greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere as “CO2 is a naturally occurring phenomenon.” You see, Pence just really likes his fossil fuels.

3. He said "Mulan" was "liberal propaganda."

In a segment for his radio show, "The Mike Pence Show", Pence says he spent his Father’s Day weekend seeing the Disney movie, "Mulan," with his kids. Apparently, he would’ve given the film zero stars on Rotten Tomatoes. Pence shared his disappointment by saying, “Despite her delicate features and voice, Disney expects us to believe that Mulan’s ingenuity and courage were enough to carry her to military success on an equal basis with her cloddish cohorts. Obviously, this is Walt Disney’s attempt to add childhood expectation to the cultural debate over the role of women in the military. I suspect that some mischievous liberal at Disney assumes that Mulan’s story will cause a quiet change in the next generation’s attitude about women in combat and they just might be right.”

Fun fact: Mulan is actually based on the 6th century poem, Ballad of Mulan. But in case there was any confusion on Pence’s stance, he ends the Op-Ed with, “Moral of story: women in military, bad idea.”

4. He wrote an article saying, "smoking doesn't kill."

You would think he would’ve stopped writing Op-Eds, by now, but they just keep getting more ridiculous. “Time for a quick reality check,” Pence writes. “Despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn't kill. In fact, two out of every three smokers does not die from a smoking related illness and nine out of 10 smokers do not contract lung cancer.” Oh. I get it. So the 33 percent of smokers that do die from smoking related illnesses don’t really count. At least he read some facts this time, no matter how he got to such a strange conclusion.

5. He's against birthright citizenship.

You know how in the Constitution it says that if you’re born in the U.S., you’re an American citizen? Well, not in the eyes of Mike Pence, who co-sponsored a bill in 2009 saying this only applies if at least one parent is a citizen, permanent immigrant or is performing active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. To hell with the 14th Amendment!

6. He is skeptical of evolution.

Science, shmience. In an interview with MSNBC, Pence was repeatedly asked about evolution, but instead of giving a straight answer he said, “Do I believe in evolution? I embrace the view that God created the heavens and the earth, the seas and all that’s in them... The means, Chris, that he used to do that, I can’t say. But I do believe in that fundamental truth.” Well, at least he didn’t completely say no.

7. He said condoms are poor protection against STDs.

No, really. After former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, told young people to protect themselves against STDs by using condoms, he called it a “sad day” and said, "frankly, condoms are a very, very poor protection against sexually transmitted diseases” and that Powell, “may be inadvertently misleading millions of young people and endangering lives.” You can’t make this stuff up.

8. He used to be a Democrat.

It’s surprising to learn that someone so conservative, actually came from a Democratic family. He idolized JFK and was the youth coordinator of the Bartholomew County Democrats. He voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980, but his faith soon lead him to align with Republican views as their pro-life agenda matched that of his evangelical faith.

9. He wanted to have a state-run, taxpayer-funded news site.

Pence’s news outlet, Just IN, was reportedly going to cover breaking news, light features and exclusives from political office. A news source run by the government in lieu of the free press? What could possibly be wrong with that? Just IN’s two staff members also planned to make a combined six-figure salary. Did I mention this was taxpayer funded?

10. He hosted his own radio show.

After several years of working as an attorney in private practice, Pence ran (unsuccessfully) for office twice before creating his own radio show, “The Mike Pence Show,” where he referred to himself as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.” The show aired on 18 stations throughout Indiana.

11. He was caught deleting comments off his government Facebook page.

At least, his staff was. Hoosiers reportedly were upset about Pence’s stance on gay marriage and began commenting on his official government Facebook page, which is considered by many as a public forum. Over 1,000 comments disagreeing with Pence were deleted, even though they followed the guidelines of abstaining from being profane or uncivil. Sites such as Pencership quickly appeared, merging “Pence” with “censorship.”

12. He calls himself a “born-again evangelical Catholic.”

Which, apparently, is a thing. He grew up in a Catholic family where he considered becoming a priest. In college, he converted to evangelicalism and “gave his life to Jesus Christ” at a Christian music festival in Asbury, Kentucky in 1978.

13. He really likes guns.

So much so that he made it a law in Indiana that guns could be kept in cars on school property.

14. He paid his mortgage with campaign donations.

In his 1990 campaign for Congress, Pence admitted to using $12,867 of campaign donations for personal expenses including mortgage payments on his house, his personal credit card bill, groceries, golf tournament fees and car payments for his wife. In his defense, it wasn’t illegal at the time, but people sure weren’t happy. In fact, changes to campaign spending rules came about directly following Pence’s scandal.

15. He didn't even vote for Trump in the primary.

Turns out, Pence was more of a Cruz guy, but in typical politician fashion he added that he’s “not against anybody,” which may have just been his saving grace for Trump to pick him as VP.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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