It has been an interesting week in politics to say the least, even for this wacky Presidential race. The first major “October surprise” reared its ugly head this week and it did so in a very damning way. On Wednesday, video emerged of a conversation between Billy Bush and Donald Trump from 11 years ago objectifying women and bragging how fame and power has allowed him to do whatever he pleases with women. These statements caused many prominent Republicans to pull support from the man who was seemingly boasting about sexual assault. While old, these statements put his running mate, Mike Pence, in a very difficult situation and rumors quickly began to spread of the VP candidate dropping off the Republican ticket. Rumors only further spread as Pence issued an unprecedented critical statement at a Wisconsin rally, saying that he “does not condone his (Trump’s) remarks and cannot defend him.” The nerves of Republican party supporters were finally eased when Pence came to Trump’s defense at a Charlotte rally and reaffirmed that he would continue running alongside the Presidential candidate. He still did not support the nominee’s comment, but instead, focused on a value that is held near and dear to Republican voters—religion. Pence said, “My faith informs me we’re to hold up a Godly standard…while I don’t condone what was said, the other part of my faith is grace…We’re called to forgive as we’ve been forgiven.” In a very strong rhetorical move, Pence threw the average American voter into Trump’s situation, reminding us of the times we’ve made mistakes and then been forgiven, and then Pence asks those voters to forgive Trump in that same way. For weeks now, Pence has followed in the wake of Trump, gracefully winning back voters that may be discouraged or turned off by Trump’s antics and it has Republicans at all levels wishing it was Pence at the top of the Republican ticket. One final rhetorically strong move by Pence in the past week was a move the Clinton’s took when appearing on a 60 Minutes Interview during Bill Clinton’s sex scandals. Pence says, “It takes a big man to know when he’s wrong. And to admit it…And Donald Trump, last night, showed that he’s a big man.” Pence is trying to draw attention to a “strength” of Trump as to how he can identify when he has made a mistake and own up to said mistake, something Hillary has done little of during her campaign. While it may ultimately be an unforgiveable comment to the American people, Pence has taken a dire situation and made it a little more hopeful for Republican supporters through persuasive and supportive rhetoric.
