WASHINGTON — As campaign storylines go, it would normally seem like an express ticket to the White House: a dutiful, squeaky-clean former vice-president putting his life on the line to rescue American democracy from a despotic ex-boss.
Of course, there’s nothing remotely normal about U.S. politics these days.
Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s long-suffering second in command, rarely says much about what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. And he doesn’t often invoke the name of the man whose supporters ran amok on Capitol Hill that day, some of them out for vice-presidential blood.
Despite that close call, or perhaps because of it, the pious, deferential former Indiana governor and congressman seems as determined as ever to contest the Republican nomination for president, even though the odds are stacked against him.
“I don’t know that the president and I differ on issues. But we may differ on focus,” Pence said Tuesday, choosing his words carefully, as he answered student questions following a campaign-style speech at a conservative youth conference in D.C.
“I truly do believe that elections are about the future, and that it’s absolutely essential at a time when so many Americans are hurting, so many families are struggling, that we don’t give way to the temptation to look back.”
The “freedom agenda” Pence laid out Tuesday did indeed bear striking similarity to some of Trump’s favourite talking points, including waging war against progressive “woke culture,” defending and enhancing gun rights and defending freedom of speech.
He lingered on the subject of abortion, hailing the Supreme Court’s decision to consign Roe v. Wade to the “trash heap of history” and vowing to take the fight to every state in the union in an effort to make the procedure illegal across the country.
“Save the babies,” he said, “and we’ll save America.”
One other area Pence and Trump two seem to have in common: though neither will confirm it, both seem to want to be commander-in-chief in 2025.
They briefly re-entered each other’s orbits Tuesday, with the former president returning to the U.S. capital for the first time since he grudgingly surrendered the Oval Office to President Joe Biden last year, ending the most turbulent transition period in modern American history.
Trump was the main attraction at the America First Summit, a gathering of like-minded conservatives hosted by the America First Policy Institute, a think tank that has become a receptacle for his most prominent Washington loyalists.
He laid out a scorched-earth vision of law and order that included death sentences for drug dealers, permanent tent cities to rid urban areas of homeless encampments, a vow to send the National Guard into Democrat-run states, and banning transgender athletes from women’s sports, an ad lib that earned the lustiest ovation of the afternoon.
He also promised a fresh attack on the “deep state” bureaucracy with a resurrected Schedule F, an executive order that would equip him with the power to purge the civil service of employees deemed “corrupt, incompetent or unnecessary.”
He made no mention of Pence, and Jan. 6 only in passing as he recited a familiar list of unjust persecutions he believes he was made to suffer at the hands of Democrats on Capitol Hill.
The second-loudest cheers came when he came close to confirming a presidential run in 2024.
“There’s an expression: ‘The best day of your life is the day before you run for president.’ Did you ever hear that? I laughed at it; I said, ‘Hmm, that may be true, actually,’” Trump said.
“But I’m doing it for America. And it’s my honour to do it. It’s my great, great honour to do. Because if I don’t, our nation is doomed to become another Venezuela or become another Soviet Union. That’s where we’re headed.”
With Trump still widely seen as the presumptive Republican nominee, notwithstanding polls that suggest growing support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Pence would be hard-pressed to win over those who continue to support the former president.
But his reputation has been burnished by the congressional committee examining the Capitol Hill riots, with some former Trump officials and committee members hailing him for his bravery in defying presidential demands to reject the results of the 2020 vote.
“I think the vice-president did the right thing, I think he did the courageous thing,” former White House counsel Pat Cipollone told the committee.
“I think he did a great service to this country, and I think I suggested to somebody that he should be given the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his actions.”
Pence has largely steered clear of talking about the riots, making only passing reference Tuesday to a “tragic day” in U.S. history but choosing instead to focus on what he described as the path forward for Republicans in the November midterms.
“Some people may choose to focus on the past. But elections are about the future,” he said.
“In 2022, the American people will decide whether their children and grandchildren will stand tall as citizens of the freest nation on earth, or whether they’ll be forced to live in the economic, moral and spiritual decline of socialism.”
From a Canadian perspective, America’s public image may be difficult to restore, regardless of who wins the Republican nomination or the presidential contest in 2024, a new poll suggests.
The online survey, conducted July 8-10 by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies, asked respondents about the countries they consider the world’s most powerful, and how that ranking might change 10 years from now.
A slim majority of the poll’s 1,764 respondents — 53 per cent — placed the U.S. at the top of the list, followed by China at 40 per cent. Those surveyed said they expect a reversal in 2032: only 38 per cent chose the U.S., behind China with 54 per cent.
Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
“There are clearly some mixed feelings among Canadians about the evolving influence of the U.S. on the world stage,” said the association’s president, Jack Jedwab.
Despite everything, Trump remains a real factor, while Biden’s tenure in the White House has had little to no effect on existential issues that resonate strongly in Canada — things like guns, abortion and inflation, Jedwab said.
“Even with Biden in the Oval Office, Canadians still see the considerable influence of Republican thinking on American society.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2022.
HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.
Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.
Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.
Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.
Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.
Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.
Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.
The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Pearce and Nathan Saliba scored in the second half — the first goals of their careers — and CF Montreal rallied for a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.
“In the second half, the guys came out a little more ambitious and above all, more connected,” Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois said. “It was a great second half of resilience and fighting spirit. Nathan and Sam were impressive.
“Impressive in covering the gaps and compensating for the teammates, and the individual defending – yes it’s true, it is a lot of weight on their shoulders, but that’s the job.”
New England (8-16-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on Bobby Wood’s third goal of the season. Teenage defender Peyton Miller notched his first assist in his fourth career start and sixth appearance and Carles Gil picked up his ninth of the season. Peyton, at 16 years, 315 days old, is the eighth youngest player in league history to record his first assist.
The Revolution took a two-goal lead in the 35th minute and held it through halftime when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic took a pass from Gil and scored his third goal of the season and career in his first full season in the league. It was the 73rd regular-season assist in Gil’s career, tying him with Steve Ralston for the most in club history.
Montreal (7-12-10) pulled within a goal in the 54th minute when Pearce scored off a free kick after defender George Campbell drew a foul on New England’s Mark-Anthony Kaye. It was the first goal for Pearce in his third career start and fourth appearance.
“Playoffs are the goal. Maybe it wasn’t in the best form, but in the end, we are picking up a point,” Pearce said. “We came into this game confident, ready to play our own game. Everyone tries their best, whenever the players are called on, we are always ready, and we are always giving it our best.”
Montreal scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on the first career goal by Saliba, a 20-year-old midfielder. Saliba has made 34 starts and 48 appearances with Montreal in his two seasons in the league. Campbell snagged his second assist of the season and the third of his career.
“It’s an incredible feeling, it’s a goal I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’m extremely happy that I was able to score it and that it can help the team take this important point on the road,” Saliba said. “Pearce’s first goal gave us really good momentum and we kept up the pressure to go for a second goal. We got more solid defensively, and we came back ready after halftime, to push for these 3 points.”
Aljaz Ivacic finished with four saves in goal for the Revolution.
Jonathan Sirois stopped four shots for Montreal.
New England beat Montreal 5-0 on the road on Aug. 24.
New England leads the all-time series 16-13-4. Montreal improves to 5-8-2 on the road against the Revs.
The Revolution travel to take on Charlotte FC on Saturday. Montreal returns home to host the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on Wednesday night.
The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by 10 games with 10 to play.
García launched an inside sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled.
“He swings hard, he swings a lot,” Francis said of García. “I guess the velo was dropping during that time.”
Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six.
The seven shutout innings are the most in a game during his two-year career. He was knocked out of his previous start after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and homers (three) in 3 2/3 innings in a 14-4 loss at Arizona.
“Throughout the week, you’ve got to try and digest what happened, see where I can make adjustments, whether it was just game plan went wrong or just poor execution, or a little bit of both,” Bradford said. “Then you flush it.”
Bradford was perfect through four innings before Alejandro Kirk opened the fifth with a smash back to the mound that caromed off Bradford’s left foot and rolled into right field for a single. It extended Kirk’s hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
Spencer Horwitz’s double to left-center put runners on second and third with no outs before Bradford retired the next three batters.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider credited Bradford’s “deceptive fastball.”
“When you’re throwing 89, 92, you’ve got to have pretty good deception with that at this level,” Schneider said. “Kept us off balance.”
Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.
Francis, who took no-hitters into the ninth inning in two of his previous four starts, allowed a double to Marcus Semien, the Rangers’ first hitter of the game. He gave up five hits and one walk in six innings.
Francis has a 1.96 ERA in nine starts with 54 strikeouts and seven walks since being moved back into the starting rotation in late July.
“I don’t even want to get complacent, on cruise control,” Francis said. “Just keep attacking.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette was a late scratch with a right middle finger contusion suffered during infield practice. Schneider said the team will get back x-rays on Thursday. Bichette was activated Tuesday following a calf injury and played for the first time in two months, going 2 for 5 with one RBI at the plate. … INF Will Wagner (left knee inflammation) will have the knee scoped on Thursday. Schneider said Wagner should be ready to start spring training. Wagner, son of former major leaguer Billy Wagner, was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline.
UP NEXT
Rangers rookie RHP Kumar Rocker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his home debut against Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.02) in the series finale. Rocker allowed one run in four innings at Seattle last Thursday in his major league debut.
