Donald Trump: When it comes to Mike Pence's Iraq vote, 'I don't care'

(Image credit: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images)

published 18 July 2016

Donald Trump said he absolutely, 100 percent doesn't care that his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R), voted for the war in Iraq.

Oh, you might be thinking. Trump has long been bleating about how Hillary Clinton's vote to go to war shows poor judgment, so if he's excusing Pence, it must no longer be an issue for him. Aw, you're cute. It's still a huge deal, just not when it comes to Pence, who cast his vote while serving in the House of Representatives and even spoke in favor of war on the floor of the House.

During Sunday's 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl asked Trump about the situation in the Middle East, and brought up the Iraq War. Trump said it was "handled so badly," and was a "war that we shouldn't have entered." When Stahl reminded him of Pence's vote, Trump responded, "I don't care." When pressed by Stahl, Trump continued, "It's a long time ago. And he voted that way and they were also misled. A lot of information was given to people…"

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Trump again stated he was "one of the few that was right on Iraq" (The Washington Post reports its fact-checkers have never been able to find evidence he opposed the war before it started), adding that Pence is "entitled to make a mistake every once in awhile." "She's not?" Stahl asked, referring to Clinton. "No," Trump declared. "She's not." Watch the video below — the Iraq War remarks start at around the five-minute mark, but the entire interview, with comments on trade, religion, and Trump's humility ("I'm much more humble than you would understand"), is worth a watch. Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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