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The Pence pick: The time Trump didn't go with his gut
| CNN | - |
(CNN)
The calls from Donald Trump to his son-in-law Jared Kushner and other
close advisers kept coming until midnight. The campaign had flown
Indiana Gov.
The Pence pick: The time Trump didn't go with his gut
Donald Trump's last-minute vice presidential indecision 03:05
Story highlights
- Pence flew to New York Thursday afternoon but Trump was still discussing the decision as late as midnight
- Trump announced Pence as his VP choice Friday on Twitter
(CNN)The
calls from Donald Trump to his son-in-law Jared Kushner and other close
advisers kept coming until midnight. The campaign had flown Indiana
Gov. Mike Pence to New York to be his vice presidential choice, but
Trump was still questioning his decision.
'The Apprentice': Donald Trump VP edition 01:42
Trump,
a man most comfortable going with his gut, had made his most important
decision as a candidate based on political pragmatism, according to
sources familiar with the events. He was swayed by his children and
campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who had persuaded him that Pence would
do more to strengthen Trump's campaign and unify the party than New
Jersey Gov. Chris Christie -- a man whose style and personality more
closely matches the presumptive Republican nominee.
The
selection of Pence had gained momentum during a week of serendipity for
the governor. From the moment that Pence had hosted Trump at his
Indianapolis home for breakfast Wednesday, he told his team he had a
strong premonition that he was going to be the vice presidential pick.
Trump
had dined with Pence the night before, and then because of a popped
tire on his plane, was captive in Indianapolis. That gave Pence, and
more importantly Trump's children and his advisers, an extra day to
convince him.
Meet Indiana Gov. Mike Pence 00:56
As
late as Tuesday, advisers say, Trump had been leaning toward Christie,
his longtime friend and now trusted adviser. Weeks earlier, Trump's
children had been leaning toward Newt Gingrich, several sources said,
dazzled by the former House speaker's charm and encyclopedic knowledge
of politics.
Trump
has long been skittish about confrontation with those who are loyal to
him, and Christie had stood with him longer than most. So Trump kept
calling him Thursday, not quite saying he had chosen Pence, but trying
to convince Christie to take the job of attorney general.
Everyone
around Trump knew Pence was the logical -- if boring -- choice, the
kind of guy everyone describes as "nice" but one who would be the first
to blush if Trump told an off-color joke. He and Trump scarcely knew
each other, and his understated demeanor could not be more different
than Trump's brash style.
Trump's
children and Manafort decided Pence was the safe choice; someone who
could be trusted, a calm, reliable counter force to Trump's
unpredictable and erratic tangents.
So
as Trump was off in California on a fundraising trip Thursday, he and
Pence spoke several times. But no formal offer was made. Trump just
could not quite bring himself to do it.
As
CNN and other news outlets reported that all signs pointed to Pence,
the candidate's seeming indecision began playing out in full public view
in a humiliating fashion for Pence.
Trump and Pence have very different styles 01:49
The
presumptive presidential nominee did a morning interview in California
insisting to the Michael Savage Radio Show that he was still deciding.
His advisers pushed back hard on reporters, telling them he hadn't made
up his mind.
Close Pence allies --
already divided on whether Pence should risk his largely unsullied
reputation by joining the ticket of the slick real estate magnate --
began to panic.
Perhaps Pence's
instincts had been wrong and the earnest, quick-to-trust governor had
been misled. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking toward the Friday noon
deadline for Pence to withdraw from the gubernatorial race.
The critical player in all of this, Manafort, stepped in to take control.
He
was already juggling two critical tasks Thursday -- quashing the
anti-Trump rebellion at the Rules Committee meeting in Cleveland with
his fleet of lawyers, while working the phones to get Trump to the final
decision that he and the children, along with Kushner, wanted.
On
Thursday morning, Manafort was spotted huddling in a hallway with RNC
top strategist Sean Spicer and Trump spokesman Jason Miller, before
retreating behind closed doors with Miller in room 12 inside the
underground Huntington Convention Center.
Taking
advantage of the serpentine back hallways and exits of the convention
center, Manafort slipped back to Trump headquarters inside the Westin
hotel, where only aides wearing special pins --- a white circle bearing
either a blue star or a red star --- could access the sixth and seventh
floors.
Though his boss was
insisting publicly that he was undecided, Manafort sent word for Pence
to get on the private plane that would ferry the governor from
Indianapolis to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, setting the wheels in
motion for the announcement.
Pence
was hesitant to fly to New York, knowing that events did not unfold as
he expected, it could be a humiliating trip and cost him the governor's
office. But he boarded the plane.
Trump
was frustrated by reports that he had picked Pence while he was "six
hours and three time zones away," one senior adviser said. He was still
troubled by his conversations with Christie -- wrestling with the
instinct to go with his advisers' guidance or his gut.
Mike Pence on being considered for Donald Trump's VP 01:42
He
had already delayed his Friday announcement of his running-mate because
of the terror attack in France, and that gave him even more time to
reason through his choice.
Pence,
trailed by news cameras upon landing in New Jersey, was already at the
Intercontinental Hotel in New York when an aide called him frantically,
telling him to turn on Fox News where Trump was insisting in an
interview that he had not made a "final, final decision."
But Pence remained calm and was convinced that Trump would keep his word.
Trump
kept calling Manafort and his son-in-law until midnight, asking whether
he could reverse his decision. He was told he could not.
Trump's campaign says the midnight wavering didn't happen.
"Nonsense," said Donald Trump Jr.
"This
is completely false. Zero truth to it," tweeted Jason Miller, a senior
communications adviser. And a senior Trump adviser called the story a
"rumor."
Miller also insisted to CNN that the Pence decision was in no way forced on the presumptive nominee but was his own choice.
Friday
morning, Trump confirmed the news by Twitter he was going with Pence.
It was yet another coup for his children and his top adviser.
"I
am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my
Vice Presidential running mate. News conference tomorrow at 11:00 A.M,"
he tweeted.
In Midtown Manhattan Friday, Pence told reporters he was "very excited, very humbled and very grateful."
"We
love Indiana, we love our country," he said. "My family and I couldn't
be more honored to have the opportunity to run with and serve with the
next president of the United States."
But
many others saw the events of the past 24 as an inauspicious start to
the partnership. "Manafort's hair will be white by Labor Day," one
establishment GOP operative told CNN's Gloria Borger.
Knowing
Trump's discomfort with the Trump pick -- and the fact that he would
listen closely to how the Indiana Governor's addition to the ticket
played on television -- Team Trump leaned heavily on GOP allies and
grassroots groups to pump up the praise for Pence.
They
made an aggressive play through friends and associates to get
over-the-top praise in numerous statements that have trickled out since
the pick from fiscal conservative organizations like Club for Growth and
anti-abortion groups.
Who will Hillary Clinton pick for VP? 02:23
That
allowed them to go to Trump during his hours of indecision and point to
accolades flowing in. One top Trump adviser told CNN they needed to
"pump him up that this was the right pick" and the "unity ticket."
His
staff made sure he saw all the complimentary statements from House
Speaker Paul Ryan, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and the assorted groups.
The question of how comfortable Trump is with Pence, however, still stands.
Upon arriving at Trump Tower, a reporter asked if Pence thought Trump ever changed his mind.
The governor turned around to listen, smiled, then continued to walk into the building.
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