Former Vice President Mike Pence is among a growing group of big name Republicans to have declared that former President Donald Trump is unfit for the Oval Office and should not be re-elected. Pence, who was brutally targeted by Trump’s insurrectionist supporters on January 6 with chants of “Hang Mike Pence”, says he can’t bring himself to cast a vote for his former running mate, Trump’s conduct and character being dealbreakers.
When word came out of Indiana that also-ran Nikki Haley‘s ghost candidacy had received more than 20% of the GOP primary votes in the state — even though it had been two months since she’d dropped out of the race — lots of TV talking heads started seeing telltale Trump weakness in the numbers. Haley’s showing sounded an alarm for some observers, though Indiana is a deep red state that is not in play in November.
BREAKING: Fox News is slamming Donald Trump for his abysmal performance in the Indiana primary where Nikki Haley still received over 20% of the vote despite dropping out over two months ago. Retweet to ensure all Americans know how weak Trump is.pic.twitter.com/maJFWQlcQf
— Biden’s Wins (@BidensWins) May 8, 2024
Besides the ostensibly serious commentators, comedians also had fun trying to figure out how and why Haley’s comet came around again, even as the former candidate has absented herself not only from the race but from public appearances. (Like Pence, Haley has — so far — withheld an endorsement of Trump.)
.@jimmykimmel: Nikki Haley dropped out of the election over two months ago and still took home more than 20% of the vote away from Trump in Indiana. That means either a large chunk of Republican voters are not planning on voting for Trump or that Mike Pence voted 128,000 times pic.twitter.com/3nbPn7VDaV
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) May 9, 2024
Anti-Trump late night host and Trump Oscars criticism target Jimmy Kimmel (above) proffered a theory about what might have happened in Indiana to produce such a strong anti-Trump showing among diehard red state conservatives. Either those Republicans don’t want Trump, Kimmel suggests, or — wait for it — “Mike Pence voted 128,000 times.” The rimshot was good enough that the Biden campaign team shared the segment.