Some have said he would be even more dangerous than President Trump
because he is going to wage a war on women and reproductive rights
What would a Mike Pence presidency look like?
The former governor of Indiana is a heartbeat away from being commander in chief
And according to those close to him, he has long harbored ambitions for the White House
Unlike Trump though, Pence has mainly kept quiet in the administration
So just how different would he be to the current president?
I don't think his policy initiatives would differ that much but in terms of his
presentation he's going to be he would be completely different from Donald Trump
because there are no signs of wanting to grab the limelight of wanting to grab the limelight
huge difference in terms of temperament huge difference in terms of public behavior
We're not going to see a president who uses his Twitter account to communicate
Mike Pence is going to use more traditional perhaps more old fashioned forms of communication
Mike Pence always thinks before he speaks
He is very restrained in what he says publicly
he wants to present himself as a model of humility
He's not going to be boorish or thuggish. He's going to act like a gentleman
We don't see any personal scandals in my Pence's life
An evangelical christian, Pence’s faith informs a lot of his political views
And one he would likely be particularly vocal on is abortion.
Some have said he would be even more dangerous than President Trump
because he is going to wage a war on women and reproductive rights
I don't think he shows a history of trying to
impose his moral World Order on government
But he certainly has chosen some
select issues where his faith takes center stage
He opposes abortion
He has often said he wished Roe v. Wade could be overturned when he was in Congress
He's always opposed government funding of Planned Parenthood because the institution performs abortion
I feel like we would see him very vocal on life issues
but otherwise not imposing his will on the government
While I'm certain he would support a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade
not with the notion of the federal government than suddenly banning abortion
So the United States could conceivably end up with what we had prior to Roe v. Wade
Which is kind of a patchwork of different laws some states where it was fully
legal some where it was partly legal and some where it was was prohibited
There are many areas were Pence's to the right of the Republican Party in particular his fiercely strong
Opposition to the size and power of the federal government
When he was in Congress
he was always fighting for lower taxes and
reducing the budget deficit and spending less government money
often at his own peril within the Republican caucus for example in
2003 when the Republicans were in control and President Bush was wanting to add
a prescription drug entitlement to Medicare
Pence fought tooth and nail and led the caucus members that were fighting it
Ultimately they didn't win but Pence was willing to take
on his own party for that principle of limited government
I think he gets more headlines for his social conservatism
But it's really his fiscal conservatism that has made him so popular in Indiana
So I think that that would be priority one
streamlining the federal government , continuing deregulation,
shrinking government, returning power to the States
But perhaps repents would most differ from Trump is in how he would deal with the Democratic opposition
Despite his right-wing views
History shows he is not against bridging the divide in order to make a deal
He's quoted as saying in my book that if you're not willing to listen to the other side then forget democracy
So I think he would view himself as more of a healer and and more of that olive branch kind of person
similar to John McCain in the sense that
when he was in Congress Pence had good friends on both sides of the aisle
worked well with
representatives from the Democratic Party
one example would be the federal Medicaid program while he didn't like
some of the aspects of President Obama's program
He was able to work with the Obama administration and achieve a waiver
so Indiana could implement a program called hip healthy, Indiana plan 2.0
he negotiated personally with President Obama on the tarmac of
an Indiana Airport to achieve that so he is willing to compromise and
I imagine that that would continue under a pence presidency