Pence to students on Trump: "Now is the time to stay the course"
LYNCHBURG, VA - “When you think about this choice and how dramatic it is, now is the time to stay the course,” Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence declared in a speech at Liberty University on Wednesday morning to his largest audience since the July Republican National Convention.
He implored the mostly undergraduate students, “not to flinch in the face of harsh political winds not to step off on the sidelines but rather to become engaged.” But that message was also unmistakably aimed at an older crowd 180 miles north -- GOP politicians in Washington, D.C., who fled from Donald Trump in droves over the weekend because of a leaked video showing the billionaire making lewd comments about women.
The ensuing firestorm forced Pence to condemn Trump’s comments as “indefensible” over the weekend. Some elected officials like Senate Republican John Thune, the third highest-ranking Senate Republican, briefly appealed for Pence to take Trump’s place. The controversy also led to speculation that Pence could leave the ticket.
But since Monday, the ever-loyal running mate has repeatedly declared at rallies and interviews that he is “proud to stand with Donald Trump.”
In an allegorical moment for the political travails that Republicans face, the Indiana governor recounted a story emailed to him that morning by a friend who sailed into a storm. “He was at the helm of that little sailing boat and the tempest was blowing right in his face and he wanted for all the world to turn the rudder and start to head back to shore,” Pence told the students, “and the skipper below shouted up to him stay the course, it made all the difference and he made it home because he didn’t turn aside from the challenge.”
He urged the friendly evangelical audience not to be apathetic. “Men and women of faith I will tell you this is a time for action not essays and we must roll our sleeves up and be prepared to fight everyday for what we believe in. Shortcomings are no excuse for inaction,” he said. Since the controversy of the leaked tape, Pence has repeatedly emphasized to his audiences, “this election is not a choice between two people, the choice in this election is between two futures.”
The message from other Trump surrogates to Republican leaders more hostile. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway demanded that leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan stop “pussyfooting” around in an interview with ABC News. On Monday, Ryan told House Republicans in a conference call that he would no longer defend Trump.
Trump himself assailed Ryan in a series of tweets and in a Tuesday interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly. “Paul Ryan opened borders and amnesty and bad budgets by the way, very, very bad budgets. Frankly the only one that Obama negotiates well with is Paul Ryan with the budgets because that’s the only negotiation he can win,” Trump said.
At Liberty University, all of the students CBS News spoke to were disappointed by Speaker Ryan’s decision to back away from the Republican nominee.
Connor Ellis, an 18-year-old freshman from Michigan who is an enthusiastic Trump supporter told CBS, “if you’re turning away from Trump you’re supporting Hillary. That’s what the opposite of what the country needs.”
The sense of frustration with Ryan even extended to reluctant Trump backers like Noah Terpstar, an 18-year-old freshman from Des Moines, Iowa who told CBS, “if I was House Speaker Ryan, I probably would have stayed supporting Trump just for the Republican establishment to keep that mentality.”
“I was a little disappointed,” he added.
When asked about the video of Trump talking about women using graphic language, the Iowan answered saying that “it definitely bothered me I’m not the hugest Trump supporter, it showed more of his moral character.”