Donald Trump taps Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his Vice Presidential running mate
Donald Trump has offered Mike Pence the vice presidential spot on his Republican ticket, and Trump aides have told the Indiana governor the formal announcement event could be made on Saturday. That’s according to a Republican with direct knowledge of the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to publicly discuss the details of Trump’s search for a running mate. Trump made the offer and Pence accepted Thursday afternoon, before the governor traveled to New York, the Republican said. The announcement had been planned for Friday morning in midtown Manhattan, but Trump delayed his plans after the truck attack in Nice, France, that left more than 80 people dead. The staunchly conservative Pence, who is 57, served six terms in Congress before being elected governor and could help Trump navigate Capitol Hill. He’s well-regarded by evangelical Christians, particularly after signing a law that critics said would have allowed businesses to deny service to gay people for religious reasons. The announcement delay created a complication for Pence. He’s up for re-election in Indiana, but state law requires him to withdraw from that race by noon Friday if he’s joining Trump on the Republican ticket. Pence’s team has drawn up the paperwork for the withdrawal, the Republican said, but as of Friday morning, the documents had not been submitted. Trump’s frenetic decision-making process was made more complicated by the fact that the businessman was in California Thursday for a series of fundraisers, isolated from nearly all of his closest advisers, including his three adult children and his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. Frustration among Trump and his advisers mounted because of news reports that Pence was the pick, sending top aides scrambling to insist no final decision had been made. The billionaire said in a series of television interviews Thursday night that he’d not yet settled on a “final, final” choice, leaving open the possibility the unpredictable presumptive nominee could change his mind. But Manafort said Friday morning he believed Trump had “reached a decision but he isn’t prepared to announce it yet.” Manafort dismissed suggestions in an interview on Fox News Channel that Trump was having second thoughts about his choice. He said Trump was planning on making an announcement this weekend. A second Republican said Friday he spoke to Trump on Thursday morning, and the New York real estate mogul said he had chosen Pence and would be calling the governor to make the offer and ask him to fly to New York. That Republican also spoke on condition of anonymity, because the person was not authorized to publicly discuss the conversation. Trump’s prospective choice of Pence as his running mate adds political experience – and a dose of unflappability – to the Republican presidential ticket. Pence would be a reliably conservative No. 2 with a calm demeanor and deep ties to Washington. His apparent selection signals Trump is serious about addressing GOP concerns about his own conservative credentials and lack of Washington experience. Trump also seriously considered offering the running mate post to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, according to people familiar with the process. In a brief interview with The Associated Press Friday morning, Gingrich said he had still not been told by Trump that he would not be the choice. After spending much of Thursday in Indianapolis, Pence flew to New York. Local television stations posted video showing him arriving at a private airport outside New York and then entering a hotel. Trump has little time to re-schedule his announcement. The Republican convention kicks off in Cleveland Monday. Top party officials are already in Cleveland, where a committee voted late Thursday to rebuff a push to let delegates vote for any presidential candidate they’d like. It was a major blow to Republican foes of Trump who have been working to try to thwart his nomination. Pence would have the backing of GOP leaders and ease some of their concerns about Trump’s political inexperience and volatile temperament. Pence also has influential allies in Trump’s inner circle. But some of Trump’s children, who have been closely advising their father, were said to favor different candidates. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Dan Coats says Donald Trump hasn’t made up his mind on VP
The Latest on the 2016 presidential campaign ahead of the Republican and Democratic national conventions (all times EDT): 1:30 p.m. Indiana Sen. Dan Coats says Donald Trump hasn’t made up his mind about who to select as his running mate. Coats told The Associated Press Wednesday that he spoke with Gov. Mike Pence late Tuesday — one of the names on Trump’s shortlist of potential running mates — and Pence told him there’s still no decision. “I think he’s the front-runner,” Coats said, adding, “I think he ought to be the front-runner.” Coats said Pence is “pretty calm about the whole thing.” He added that Trump is cognizant that he needs to make a decision by Friday given gubernatorial succession rules in Indiana. But he concluded that “reading Donald Trump’s mind is not the easiest thing to do.” ___ 1:20 p.m. Hillary Clinton says the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln has been transformed into “the party of Trump.” Rattling off a series of attacks against her GOP rival, Clinton says Trump is “dangerous,” ”divisive,” ”fear-mongering” and is “pitting American against American.” Even stalwart Republicans, she says, should be alarmed by Trump’s policies and racist rhetoric. Clinton is casting Trump as ignorant of the Constitution, dismissive of U.S. law and lacking the character to be trusted with American security. “Imagine if he had not just Twitter and cable news to go after his critics and opponents, but also the IRS – or for that matter, our entire military,” she says. “Do any of us think he’d be restrained?” ___ 1:07 p.m. Hillary Clinton is calling on the country — including herself — to “do a better job of listening” rather than fueling political and other divisions after a series of high-profile shootings. Clinton says the country must address both gun violence, criminal justice reform and find ways to better support police departments. “I know that just saying these things together may upset some people,” she says. “But all these things can be true at once.” Clinton is speaking in the Illinois Old State House chamber in Springfield, the site of Abraham Lincoln’s his famous address about the perils of slavery. She is trying to use the symbolic site to contrast her call for civility with what she sees as rival Donald Trump’s polarizing campaign. Clinton said she has work to do, as well. She says that as someone “in the middle of a hotly fought political campaign, I cannot claim that my words and actions haven’t sometimes fueled the partisanship that often stands in the way of our progress.” Clinton adds, “I recognize that I have to do better too.” ___ 12:29 p.m. Donald Trump is meeting with finalists for the job of his vice presidential running mate. Trump met Tuesday with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his family. Early Wednesday, Trump and his children met with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and his family. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich also was said to be a finalist. All three have auditioned for the job by opening for Trump at campaign rallies over the past week. Trump was expected to make an announcement on Friday. ___ 10:20 a.m. Republican Donald Trump huddled with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence at the governor’s mansion in Indiana on Wednesday morning amid swirling speculation about Trump’s vice presidential deliberations. Pence and Trump walked out of the residence together just before 10:30 a.m. The pair was joined inside by Pence’s wife, Karen, as well as Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump is said to have narrowed his short list down to a trio of top contenders, including Pence. Pence joined Trump at a fundraiser and a rally on Tuesday where he received a warm reception from the crowd. ___ 10:15 a.m. The lead super PAC backing Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has begun targeting Spanish-speaking voters in Colorado, Nevada and Florida as part of a $35 million online effort it announced earlier this year. An online ad from Priorities USA features video clips of Trump calling Hispanics “drug dealers” and “criminals” and leading his supporters in the chant: “Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall!” In Spanish, an on-screen message declares that “hatred is growing in our country.” The ad campaign also includes a website: unidoscontratrump.org, which means “united against Trump.” The same message will appear in banner ads on social media. The three targeted states all have significant Latino populations. Trump insists he can do better among Hispanics than the less-than-30 percent Republican Mitt Romney drew in 2012 after calling for “self-deportation” for immigrants in the country illegally. ___ 7:35 a.m. Bernie Sanders says he agrees with the harsh remarks that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has made about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The Vermont senator declined to say whether it is appropriate for a sitting Supreme Court justice to openly criticize a White House contender. But he tells ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he agrees Trump is a “total opportunist” and said “the record clear is quite clear that he lies just a whole lot of the time.” Ginsburg in a series of interviews with The Associated Press, The New York Times and CNN has called Trump unqualified to be president and joked that she would move to New Zealand if he won. Trump said in a tweet that Ginsburg should resign. Sanders’s comments came a day after he formally endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president. Asked if he is open to being her running mate, Sanders said, “I doubt that will happen.” He said his focus is on helping Clinton win. He says, “We cannot have a man with Trump’s temperament with the nuclear code and running this country.” 5:25 a.m. Hillary Clinton is turning to the symbolism of Abraham Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech to argue that the nation needs to repair its divisions after high-profile shootings in Texas, Louisiana and Minnesota. Clinton’s campaign says the Democratic presidential candidate will talk about the importance of uniting
Daniel Sutter: Will we be free to work as we choose?
Technology has significantly changed work over the past twenty years. The emergence of opportunities to essentially earn a living from one’s hobby, which I discussed last week, is one change. New ways to earn a living outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship now exist as well. New work arrangements, though, have run afoul of labor law, which, intentionally or not, is trying to force people back into traditional employee relations. As a result, we may fail to realize the potential of the sharing economy. An estimated 31% of Americans worked as independent contractors, temps, or were self-employed in 2006. Government regulation has driven some of this, by tightly controlling the employer-employee relationship and creating opportunities for litigation. Tax advantages encourage and regulation requires employers to provide benefits like health insurance, pensions, and overtime pay for workers. Businesses face a considerable cost beyond wages or salaries when hiring employees, and will do so only when they need services regularly over an extended period of time. Technology is also creating new opportunities for contractors, particularly in the sharing economy. The ride sharing service Uber, which offers a virtual platform connecting people needing rides with willing drivers using their personal cars, provides a notable example. Similarly Angie’s List connects homeowners with contractors, electricians, and other service providers. Uber and Angie’s List do not employ the drivers or service providers. The sharing economy needs the flexibility contracting offers. Traditional economic relationships tend to be extensive and long term; people might work as cab drivers full time for years, with cars used exclusively as taxis. Sharing economy relations tend to be broad but only as long as needed to use presently idle resources. For instance, college students might use their car to earn extra money driving for Uber when convenient. We need the flexibility to deploy people and resources when, where, and only for as long as necessary. In addition to economic advantages, contractors often experience greater autonomy. Consider a writer who could either work as an employee of a magazine or free-lance. The free-lance writer has greater freedom to choose topics, and can avoid doing pieces for editors who have treated them poorly in the past. State labor commissions in California and Oregon, however, recently classified Uber drivers as employees. Uber is successful enough now that it should survive this decision, but other businesses will not. One casualty has been virtual personal assistants startup Zirtual, which could not afford the reclassification of its contractors as employees. Many politicians probably think that reclassifying contractors benefits workers. Some people also believe that raising the minimum wage makes low wage workers better off. In both cases, those still working after the policy might be better off, but those no longer able to work or supplement their income by driving a few hours a week for Uber will be worse off. The New York State Attorney General’s campaign against “on-call” shifts also strikes a blow against flexibility. The practice involves an employer requesting that employees be ready to work at a given time, and then informing the employee less than 24 hours in advance if they will need to report. Some retailers use this practice to adjust staffing to forecasts of customer demand. I suspect that people can manage their affairs better than the New York AG thinks. Employees regard being available for “on-call” shifts an imposition, and so businesses will have to pay extra to get employees to work “on-call.” People who find this work least burdensome will end up in “on-call positions, and may consider the extra pay more than adequate compensation. Politicians unable to see the invisible hand of the market will act to protect people who do not want or need protection. Many Americans have long enjoyed the flexibility and autonomy of being their own boss. Innovation is allowing more people to work as contractors instead of employees. Government should recognize the value created by our evolving world of work and not needlessly impose yesteryear’s employee-employer relation today. Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision.
