I'm impressed by Mike Pence's interview

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Jul 16, 2016 at 18:26

Hello, Daniel

Thank you for your response. Here's where we see to stand right now, about Donald Trump and the Presidential race:

1. Character. You believe Trump's character is low. I don't. Reasons below.

2. Ignorance. You think Trump is; I say not. Reasons below.

3. Political Principle. You say he lacks it. For my part, honestly, I think the term is an oxymoron -- especially so, when you consider that his opponent is Hillary Clinton. No need to list reasons.

1*. Concerning character, I have cited Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, Trump's former pastor:

"In an April 1983 New York Times profile of Trump written by the late Marylin Bender, Peale describes the tycoon as "kindly and courteous in certain business negotiations and has a profound streak of honest humility.""

-- http://spectator.org/63940_difference-between-donald-trump-and-norman-vincent-peale/

In this predominantly Christian country, especially among us "Over-65"s, you cannot get a better personal reference than that. Peale is well-known, for his book, "The Power of Positive Thinking", which was a best-seller, but which I have not read. What I have read is the magazine "Guideposts", which my wife used to subscribe to and of which Peale was the editor. Peale was a solid, Godly man -- in Yiddish terms, a real "Mensch"; and if you read the link I provided, you can see that Trump genuinely admired him.

We've just gone through seven years who spent his adult life under the tutelage of Reverend Jeremiah Wright; a pastor who hates America and holds up Muslims like Louis Farrakhan as role models. After living through that nightmare, I would think you would see Donald Trump as a breath of fresh air. Barack Obama is letter-perfect in political correctness and in reading a teleprompter; but under the veneer, he is the fire-breathing Jeremiah Wright, literally preaching "God damn America!".

Trump is the opposite. He gets a "political correctness" grade of F-, and hates teleprompters; but his background is years of sitting under and LISTENING TO Reverend Peale.

I have an example to tell, about Donald Trump's character; but unfortunately, I forgot the name of the man whose testimony I heard. That man is a businessman, who ran a holding company that owned a tower within sight of Trump Tower. Donald wanted the property, and the man knew he wanted it; but when Donald gave him a call and told him he was interested, this businessman told him, essentially,

"I don't even want to talk about it. I know you, Donald. You will put all kinds of conditions on the deal, it will drag on forever, and you will never close."

After some negotiation, Donald managed to get 30 minutes of the man's time. He said that he only had one condition -- that the man tell him, up front, how much Donald would have to put into the property to make it useable. Then they closed the deal, on the spot, with a handshake. Both parties honored their ends of that contract; and the two men have been friends ever since.

Perhaps you have heard some things about Trump, that I haven't heard. If your "references" are Gwen Ifel, Judy Woodruff and David Brooks, I would not be surprized that you've come to the conclusions you have; but none of those people know Donald as anything other than someone who's easy to attack in order to sell newspapers and advertizing.

2*. Ignorance.

"Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. Having worked in his father Fred Trump's real estate and construction firm while attending college, he assumed control of the business in 1973, later renaming it The Trump Organization."

-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump

If I had that on my resume, I think I would be able to get a job -- even at the age of 68. Not only is Trump not ignorant, as shown by having obtained his Bachellor's degree from a reputable university; but he managed to get that degree while working his way through school. That requires not just intelligence; it requires intelligence, dedication and hard work.

What makes you think the man is "ignorant", or, as you once said, "an ignoramus"?? Did he lose a game of chess? flub a New York Times crossword puzzle? I honestly am at a loss, how you might think this about him.

Daniel, I don't know what has gotten you worked up about this man. I know there are others who have gotten even more perturbed against him; but you and I both know what the reasons are. To list a few:

1. George, George, Jeb and George Bush. Reason? Terribly sore losers.
2. Ted Cruz. Reason? Sore loser.
3. Mitt Romney. You've got it -- Pathetic, sore loser.

Here's someone you may be interested in:

"Marco Rubio Verified account
‏@marcorubio

@realDonaldTrump Great pick. @mike_pence is rock solid."

-- https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/753967610841010177

You don't have to explain to me, why you haven't gotten behind the Republican nominee-to-be. Maybe you just don't like his hairdo. I don't know. I'm not a psychoanalyst. I'd just be happy, if you would bite the bullet and just mosey over and support the only candidate who has a chance of saving America from Hillary Clinton. You know that's what I want; and that I'm not kidding. Of all the candidates, I really liked Ben Carson; and I would have been very comfortable with Ted Cruz. I never watched "The Apprentice"; because I've spent too much time in unemployment lines to want to hear someone saying "You're fired!" with gusto.

I don't like Trump's demeanor when he's gotten on the stump; and with God's help, I try to not talk that way myself, at least part of the time. You're a soft-spoken professor; but even you call people "clowns", "fools" and "ignoramuses" when you're pushed in a corner. We don't like to admit it, but we both have some Donald Trump in us; and you, I and the Lord all know we've been criticized at times the same way he has. We're not "perfect", like the Neturei Karta -- so holy that we can't accept anyone short of the Messiah to run our country. I just wish you would reconsider.

Governor Prence gave a very impressive interview, at

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/07/16/mike_pence_interview_with_sean_hannity_trump_is_the_peoples_choice.html

That's the first time I've heard him speak, and I'm impressed.

God bless and keep you :-)

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".