Mike Pence seems to be running a parallel GOP campaign, and that got awkward Tuesday

Donald Trump and Mike Pence: On the same page?

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

published 5 October 2016

After Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate, Donald Trump's team is hitting at Hillary Clinton running mate Tim Kaine's frequent interruptions and overall style, and Clinton's camp is going after Trump running mate Mike Pence for declining to defend some of Trump's more controversial statements and positions.

On Russia, for example, Pence called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "small and bullying leader," while Trump (and Pence) has been generally flattering toward the autocratic Russian leader, calling him a stronger leader than President Obama. On Syria, Pence proposed a no-fly zone to guard a safe area for civilians caught in the civil war and also U.S. airstrikes against Russian ally Bashar al-Assad's Syrian government forces. That goes "far, far beyond anything Donald Trump has ever said about what Trump has called his 'secret' plan for Syria," notes The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung. It's also beyond Clinton's policy, though (as Kaine noted) she has called for a no-fly zone. Tim Miller, a former communications director for Jeb Bush and the RNC, and former Bush White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto noted this, too:

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This disconnect between what Pence promotes and what Trump advocates "means that while Pence triumphed on stage, the aftermath of the debate may help Clinton as much or more than it does Trump," suggests The Atlantic's David Graham. Rosie Gray at BuzzFeed News noted that the "sense of cognitive dissonance" when Pence "delivered line after line that could have been applied to a hypothetical Mitt Romney candidacy" bolsters Pence's prospects "for a potential presidential run in 2020 if Trump loses." No wonder Donald Trump is reportedly irked. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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