My brother Mike and I had the chance to meet 48th Vice President Mike Pence at a book signing and dinner event in Keene, NH on March 16th. Pence was in town to promote his recently released book ‘So Help Me God’ written about his life, career, and time as Vice President. The Cheshire County Republicans hosted the event which included dinner, a signed book, and a photo with Pence.
We got in the line for a photo op with Pence and I had a chance to ask him his thoughts on The Nord Stream Pipeline. I approached Pence, shook his hand, and asked “Mr. Vice President, what is your take on The Nord Stream Pipeline? Who do you think blew it up?” He took a second, somewhat shocked that someone would ask him such a thing and replied, “I’ve heard some things about that for sure, but I don’t get those intelligence briefings anymore.” I then retorted “well have you read Sy Hersh’s piece about it and that it’s basically an open secret that Biden & company blew it up?” He hadn’t read it, no surprise.
It was no shock that he hadn’t and offered nothing of any substance on the topic. Pence took an overall hawkish and aggressive posture towards the conflict in Ukraine during his speech to the dinner crowd. Seeking to separate himself from potential 2024 rivals, he took a shot at Governor DeSantis who recently said supporting Ukraine is not in the “vital interest” of The United States, saying its nothing more than “a territorial dispute.”
“The Russian invasion is not a territorial dispute,” quipped Pence. “It was an act of unprovoked aggression against a sovereign nation, and it must be met with American strength.” Anyone with even a cursory level of knowledge will know that Pence is wrong and we must not delve any further into the conflict, risking a hot war and possible nuclear exchange with Russia. The 2024 GOP Primary is shaping up to be an epic clown car, full of Trump appointees, former allies and even his Vice President. I can’t see a conceivable path to the nomination for Pence, I think he knows it too. The nomination is going to come down to King Trump Vs. Meatball Ron DeSantis. How far these two will take it is yet to be fully seen.
One thing is for certain, with far too much emphasis placed on culture war red meat and social issues; ruminations on foreign policy, war and American belligerence will get lost in the shuffle. It’s up to us to ask these questions and not get caught up in silly wedge issues that exist to keep a distracted populace divided. Pence’s hawkish foreign policy and re-branded Trumpism without Trump is going to be a hard sell in the primary, but at least its going to be an entertaining ride. I’ll be enjoying the front row seat and doing my best to document the madness, so help me God.
Support Jackman Radio on Patreon
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe on YouTube
Follow me on Instagram
Great work Eric, very informative. Truly a shame Pence won't let go of his neoconservative bent and call for peace.
Thank you for putting in the work Jackman bros! Truly appreciated. You held your tongue around Pence better than I probably would’ve