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Mike Pence Joins Donald Trump in the Spotlight In Terms of Time in Spotlight, Mike Pence Is a Distant No. 2 at His Unveiling
(about 3 hours later)
With their chaotic courtship behind them, Donald J. Trump and Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana made their public debut as running mates on Saturday morning, hoping to inspire a wave of party unity heading into the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. If ever there was a moment for Donald J. Trump to share the spotlight, his formal announcement of his running mate on Saturday was it.
“I found the leader that will help us deliver a safe society and a prosperous society, a really prosperous society, for all Americans,” Mr. Trump said in introducing Mr. Pence. Instead, his introduction of Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana was a remarkable reminder that, ultimately, the Trump campaign is about one person.
But Mr. Trump took about 25 minutes to actually cede the stage to Mr. Pence, using that time to alternately praise him, praise himself and attack Hillary Clinton. Finally, the governor stepped to the microphone. He called Mr. Pence his “partner,” but before the governor took the stage, Mr. Trump stood there alone and talked for 28 minutes, delivering a long and improvised riff that emulated his rallies instead of a traditional vice-presidential announcement.
“I accept your invitation to run and serve as vice president of the United States of America,” he said. Looking away from his notes, he talked about Hillary Clinton, terrorism, his primary victories, his crushing of a “Stop Trump” movement afoot at the nominating convention in Cleveland. Donald Trump, Mr. Trump said, understands infrastructure and how to build a border wall. He even got in a plug for his new hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.
The choice of a vice-presidential nominee is among the most important decisions that a presidential candidate makes, and the selection of Mr. Pence, a favorite among conservatives and many Republican Party insiders, could reshape the arc of Mr. Trump’s campaign. Democrats this week seized on the pick as more evidence that Mr. Trump is too extreme, while Republicans who have been critical of Mr. Trump viewed the addition of Mr. Pence as a sign of hope. After roughly 20 minutes, Mr. Trump reached for his notes. “Back to Mike Pence!” he declared, turning to Mr. Pence’s record of jobs creation in Indiana. Then he used the reference to the Hoosier State to remind the 150 people in attendance that he trounced Mr. Pence’s endorsed candidate, Senator Ted Cruz, in the primary there.
Their joint news conference on Saturday at the New York Hilton Midtown, which was originally scheduled for Friday, followed weeks of intense deliberations. Mr. Trump delayed the event out of respect for the deadly truck attack in Nice, France, but he also had lingering doubts about choosing Mr. Pence. He was still mulling the decision with aides as late as Thursday night, hours before he made it official to his millions of followers on Twitter. When Mr. Trump ultimately ceded the microphone to Mr. Pence, rather than stand beside him while he delivered his remarks, Mr. Trump walked off the stage.
On Saturday, seeking to dispel talk of his wavering, Mr. Trump said, “Indiana Governor Mike Pence was my first choice.” Vice-presidential rollouts are usually a carefully orchestrated high point of a presidential campaign, but Mr. Trump’s has been unusual and chaotic from the start. Typically, the vice-presidential candidate is given a moment to shine. But Mr. Trump spoke for more than twice as long as Mr. Pence, whose speech clocked in at roughly 12 minutes.
Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the House, and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey were also finalists, and both men have closer personal ties to Mr. Trump. Indeed, the event, in a ballroom at a Midtown Manhattan Hilton, had the feel of back-to-back news conferences lacking a recurring theme.
Political observers will closely study the chemistry between Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence, whose mild Midwestern style contrasts with Mr. Trump’s Manhattan bravado. Mr. Pence will also be under pressure not to stumble during his first foray in the national spotlight. And he will have to be ready for a litany of questions about Mr. Trump’s provocative proposals, at least one of which — his call to ban Muslim immigration — Mr. Pence condemned in the past. Mr. Trump referred to the two men as “the law-and-order candidates,” adding, that “we’re the law-and-order party.” He said that Mr. Pence “looks good,” and that, “to be honest,” part of the reason for Mr. Pence’s selection was to unify the party. Then Mr. Trump proceeded to mock those Republicans who had opposed him.
The Republican convention will kick off on Monday under a cloud of uncertainty. It is traditionally a crowning event full of festivity, but preparations for the nomination of Mr. Trump have been pocked with rule fights and a lack of cash due to concern about the nominee among corporate sponsors. Mr. Trump, who eschewed a teleprompter despite aides’ attempts to impose discipline on his speeches, also unveiled a new attack against Mrs. Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. He described her as something of a foreign policy puppeteer who had led President Obama down unfortunate paths across the globe.
Many Republican leaders will not attend, either out of protest or a desire to distance themselves from Mr. Trump. Tim Tebow, the former college football star who is a Christian celebrity, also declined a speaking slot at the convention, and Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, a prominent religious leader who converted Ivanka Trump to Judaism, backed out abruptly on Friday. Mr. Trump conspicuously tried to tamp down reports that he had vacillated about Mr. Pence as his choice as late as Thursday night, saying that he was his “first choice” all along. Mr. Pence, a relative stranger to Mr. Trump, also said that he had received a call on Wednesday about serving on the ticket.
Like much of Mr. Trump’s campaign, the venue of Saturday’s vice-presidential introduction was unconventional. In 2008, Senator John McCain introduced Sarah Palin as his running mate in the swing state of Ohio, and four years later, Mitt Romney presented Representative Paul D. Ryan at a naval museum in Virginia, a key battleground. Mr. Pence left most of the attack-dog role that is typical of a running mate to Mr. Trump. Instead, he spoke in soft tones and with humility about a middle-class upbringing and his spirituality.
Choosing convenience over political expedience, Mr. Trump introduced Mr. Pence at a hotel three blocks from his home. Mr. Pence was then to head to Indiana for an afternoon “welcome home” rally. He also seemed more mindful than Mr. Trump of the need to present a united front, a particular challenge given the fractured state of the Republican Party and the two candidates’ own considerable differences.
He sought to glide over his previous criticism of Mr. Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigrants, choosing instead to criticize Mrs. Clinton’s call to take in more Syrian refugees. He did not speak with any depth about trade pacts, which he has supported in the past and which are a target of Mr. Trump’s criticism. Mr. Pence said he was called to serve, and seemed mindful of reassuring voters about Mr. Trump’s character.
“Donald Trump is a good man and he will make a great president of the United States,” Mr. Pence said, adding, “I know what all of America will soon know — these are good people.”
Afterward, the Pence family and the Trump family came onstage, save for Mr. Trump’s wife, Melania, who was said to be at their golf club in Bedminster, N.J., with their young son, Barron. The two men then worked a ropeline with attendees.
The oversized ballroom felt cavernous; the event was originally scheduled for a smaller space on Friday, but Mr. Trump postponed the announcement, saying it was out of respect for the tragedy in Nice, France. Few local Republican leaders were in attendance; most had already decamped for the convention in Cleveland.
The entire production was over by noon. They will not appear together again until later this week; Mr. Pence was headed to a rally in Indiana on Saturday evening. Mr. Trump was not accompanying him.