Mike Pence must've briefly blanked on the fact that he's Donald Trump's running mate Friday when he decided to go after President Obama for "name-calling." Pence apparently found it distasteful that Obama dared to suggest Trump is a "demagogue" during his Wednesday address to the Democratic National Convention, telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt: "I don't think name-calling has any place in public life, and I thought that was unfortunate that the president of the United States would use a term like that."
Obama, however, didn't even directly attach the word "demagogue" to Trump's name — a precaution Trump certainly didn't take when he dubbed Hillary Clinton as "Crooked Hillary," former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as "Low Energy Jeb," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as "Lyin' Ted," Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine as "Corrupt Kaine," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as "Liddle Marco," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) as "Goofy Elizabeth," and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as "Crazy Bernie."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Crossword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfullySpeed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records requestSpeed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by TrumpSpeed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank planSpeed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutionalSpeed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for riflesSpeed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBISpeed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summitSpeed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'
