Mike Pence had some trouble on Thursday with a question posed to him by an 11-year-old girl. Which is understandable given that the average 11-year-old girl is much more intelligent than Mike Pence is.
In an interview on 10TV in Columbus, Ohio, anchor Scott Light referenced an incident where an 11-year-old Girl Scout visiting the studio told him, in reference to Donald Trump's comments about women, that “when I hear those words and look in the mirror they make me feel bad about myself,” and asked him how he would respond to that (starts at 6: 00):
Pence, who is the father of two girls over the age of 11, and who thus -- we assume -- has spoken to an 11-year-old girl before in his life, responded with this:
Well, I would say to any one of my kids and any children in this country that Donald Trump and I are committed to a safer and more prosperous future for their family. The weak and feckless foreign policy that Hillary Clinton promises to continue has literally caused wider areas of the world to spin apart, the rise of terrorist threats that have inspired violence here at home, and we’ve seen an erosion of law and order in our streets. And we’ve seen opportunities and jobs evaporate and even leave Ohio and leave this country. I would say to any of our kids that if Donald Trump and I have the chance to serve in the White House, that we’re going to work every day for a stronger, safer and more prosperous America.
Man, middle school must have been WEIRD for the Pence girls. "Daddy, Bobby keeps kicking me and putting gum in my hair and he told me I was ugly!" -- "Well dear, the weak and feckless foreign policy that Hillary Clinton promises to continue has literally caused wider areas of the world to spin apart." GOOD DADDING, MIKE PENCE.
I sincerely hope that is not what Mike Pence would say to one of his daughters if she told him she felt like crying when she looked in the mirror because of what some dude said. If it is, then he is possibly one of the worst fathers on earth. He's somewhere up with Bing Crosby or like, step-dad Robert Mitchum in The Night of The Hunter or, like, possessed Jack Nicholson in The Shining or something. Or Bender's dad in The Breakfast Club. I hope his daughters are getting therapy of some kind, because if Mike Pence talks to them like that, I imagine they have some serious issues to work out.
However! As much as Mike Pence hates women (and he does), I don't think he would talk to his actual daughters like that. Because that is not how anyone talks to anyone when they care about how that person feels about themselves. Pence just has to pretend it doesn't matter, and gloss over it, and not answer the actual question. Which is an important question! It's a big deal, because if we were to elect Donald Trump to be President, we would essentially be telling that girl that men who make them feel that way ought to be rewarded with our highest office. That the things he says are OK.
Pence has clearly decided playing stupid is the best way to go here. He is even saying he simply did not understand Michelle Obama's criticism of Trump in her super badass speech on Thursday afternoon:
“I don’t understand the basis of her claim,” Pence said on CBS This Morning on Friday. “What he’s made clear is that was talk, regrettable talk on his part, but that there were no actions and he’s categorically denied these latest unsubstantiated allegations.”
Yes, he's denied them. So they're not real! What more do people need? What? They're gonna take the word of a bunch of women over Donald Trump? That's just silly! He's made it totally clear that he's denying that he did this thing that he bragged about doing.
Is Mike Pence stupid? Is he a terrible father? Perhaps! Perhaps he is both of these things, I wouldn't put it past him. I also wouldn't put it past him to pretend both of these things in order to boost Donald Trump's failing campaign, and if I am honest, it's kind of a delight to see a gross-ass douchebag like Pence happily humming "Nearer My God To Thee" as the campaign sinks down into the ocean, like an idiot.
I was just going to comment on that myself. I don't think they're really going for the denial spin as much as a "so what?" That's the angle that has the most traction with the Bernie Bro crowd, after all. They already had decided that civil rights issues were unimportant compared to "GNARHHH! ESTABLISHMENT!" So waving off assault issues are in that vein.
Trump himself though seems to be on a different track. I think he has long convinced himself that every woman wants him because he's rich and powerful and has great hair, so he's having a crisis now that he's learning that so many women did NOT want his advances. His ego can't take the reality that he can't touch a woman unless she's paid, desperate for attention or coerced.
that's not going to work with the BoBs. they've mostly taken up with Stein or Johnson if they haven't come to their senses.