Trump’s Vice President Expected to Be Mike Pence or Newt Gingrich – Will He Throw GOP a Curve Ball?

Either Would Be a Disaster

Indiana Governor Mike Pence and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are among Donald Trump’s list of possible Republican vice presidential nominee choices, and at a scheduled press conference Friday morning the speculation is he will name one of them. Trump could also choose New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, or Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, but the big money says it’s likely going to be the Indiana governor.

Pence is a die-hard conservative, a former right wing radio host who because a U.S. Congressman who rose to the leadership ranks. As an Indiana governor with a 40 percent approval rating he’s facing a tough re-election battle, so it’s no wonder he has embraced the GOP presumptive nominee.

While Pence may not be a household name, he did earn national attention in the spring of 2015 for his anti-LGBT “religious freedom” bill that literally destroyed the good name of the Hoosier state. The Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act was the top story for well over a month, and cost the state many convention bookings, and millions of dollars in revenue, not to mention the good will of a great many Americans who had seen Hoosiers as welcoming. 

Rachel Maddow profiled Pence as a poor and potentially embarrassing choice Wednesday night (video above).

Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich, like Trump, has been married three times. He is a staunch religious conservative who is perhaps best known as the man who was forced to resign as Speaker of the House after an ugly ethics violation and a slate of disastrous policies that led to the Republicans being shellacked in the 1998 elections. 

Gingrich, while House Speaker, led the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton, but acknowledged in 2007 that while prosecuting Clinton, he himself was cheating on his own wife. 

There’s a lot more on Gingrich, but for now, watch the Maddow piece on Pence.