Republican debate: Pence falls flat as he remains stuck in single digits

Former Vice President Mike Pence utilized his time onstage Wednesday at the second Republican debate to remind viewers of his experience as a White House alumnus regardless of the moderators’ question, as his popularity continues to decline among GOP voters, according to recent polling, as reflected in his place on the outer edge of the stage.

Pence began the debate with a one-liner, arguing President Joe Biden belongs in the “unemployment line,” when asked about the ongoing auto worker strike.

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“Joe Biden doesn’t belong on the picket line; he belongs on the unemployment line,” Pence said, although the line didn’t appear to resonate with the audience in Simi Valley, who stayed silent.

The former vice president, standing on the far right side of the stage due to his low poll numbers, was asked whether he would work with Congress to find a permanent solution for Dreamers who arrived in the country as children, after the Trump administration canceled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program. Instead of addressing the program, Pence spoke about the southern border and every other immigration-related topic other than DACA.

“I negotiated the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy with the Mexican government. We used economic power to bring the Mexican government to the table. We built hundreds of miles of border wall,” Pence said, sidestepping any mention of the DACA program.

Pence was then asked by moderator Dana Perino whether the Affordable Care Act is here to stay after the Trump administration failed to repeal the program, but instead, he spoke at length about expediting the death penalty for mass shooters.

“I’m someone that believes that justice delayed is justice denied,” he said. “If I am president of the United States, I’m going to go to the Congress of the United States, and we’re going to pass a federal expedited death penalty for anyone involved in a mass shooting so that they meet their fate in months not years.”

When pressed further about the future of the Affordable Care Act, Pence criticized Trump for evaluating proposals that would expand the government.

“My former running mate Donald Trump actually has a plan to start to consolidate more power in Washington, D.C., consolidate more power in the executive branch,” Pence responded, failing to address the healthcare program. “When I’m president of the United States, it is my intention to make the federal government smaller by returning to the states those resources and programs that are rightfully theirs under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.”

Pence also avoided answering a question about what he would do as president to address increasing violence against LGBTQ people.

“I’ll stand up for the safety and the civil liberties of every American from every background,” Pence said before pivoting to the issue of school choice.

Later, a question about education took an unexpected turn after former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said America’s public schools are run by teacher’s unions and that the Biden administration is too close to the unions.

“When you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day,” Christie said, referring to first-lady Jill Biden, a longtime educator.

In a later question, Pence chimed in, saying that he had been “sleeping with a teacher for 38 years,” but noted his wife, Karen, is not a member of the teacher’s union.

Following Pence’s comment, moderator Stuart Varney declared: “next subject.”

The former vice president attempted to get some more airtime by attacking some of his fellow Republican opponents. Early in the debate, Pence slammed biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy over his ties to business in China.

“I’m glad Vivek pulled out of his business deal in 2018 in China. That must have been about the time he decided to start voting in presidential elections,” Pence said.

The former vice president also slammed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on an increase in spending in the Sunshine State.

“Ron, you talk a really good game about cutting spending, but you’ve increased spending in Florida by 30%,” Pence said.

The former vice president often answers questions with the intention of strengthening his connection to evangelical voters by highlighting his Christian faith. However, he was not asked many questions in which he easily could make that transition in this debate.

According to a recent poll, more Republican voters consider the former president a person of faith than Pence.

Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), the candidate on the stage with the lowest polling numbers, repeatedly fought to get more screen time.

Early in the debate, he attempted to steer the conversation on foreign affairs and blamed Biden for subsidizing electric vehicles with batteries from China.

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“I have to jump in, we are missing the point, and every other network is missing the point; the reason why people are striking in Detroit is because of Joe Biden’s interference with capital markets and with free markets,” Burgum said.

At one point, during a discussion about energy, Burgum repeatedly shouted for attention, “As the only person leading an energy state, can I answer the question?” he asked, but was denied. At one point, a moderator threatened to cut his microphone.