Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine, left, listens to Republican vice-presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence during the vice-presidential debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016.

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine, left, listens to Republican vice-presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence during the vice-presidential debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. Patrick Semansky/AP

Mike Pence Embraces Foreign Policy That GOP Voters Left Behind

By sidestepping Trump’s messages on foreign policy and trade in Tuesday’s debate, the vice-presidential nominee ignored the choices GOP voters made in their primaries.

Pundits say that Mike Pence performed better in his debate than Donald Trump did in his. I’m not so sure. Yes, Pence was better stylistically. He spoke more crisply. He more deftly pivoted away from uncomfortable subjects. But on both trade and national security, Pence hewed to the established conservative script. Trump discarded it. And of the two agendas, Trump’s is more popular, especially among Republicans. Ideologically, in other words, Pence didn’t do “better.” He did worse.

Pence debated the way Marco Rubio would have had he won the GOP nomination. First, he eschewed economic nationalism. Pence mentioned “trade” only three times. He didn’t cite NAFTA or the Trans-Pacific Partnership once. In his debate with Hillary Clinton, by contrast, Trump mentioned “trade,” NAFTA, and TPP 17 times.

This contrast is part of the reason Trump, rather than someone like Pence, won the GOP nomination. In recent years, Republican support for free trade has collapsed. Back in 2006, a Pew Research Center poll found that Republicans were 16 points more likely to say that free trade had helped rather than hurt their family’s financial situation. But when Politico and the Harvard School of Public Health asked about free trade’s impact last month, Republicans said it hurt their community by a margin of 29 points. In his debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump articulated these grievances against economic globalization. Pence, for all his polish, did not.

Pence sounded like Rubio on national security too. Echoing the GOP foreign-policy establishment, he attacked Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for retreating from America’s imperial role. He said Clinton’s “weak foreign policy” had “emboldened the aggression of Russia” in Ukraine. He demanded that in Syria “the provocations by Russia need to be met by American strength,” including even America air strikes against Bashar Assad’s pro-Russian regime. He called for deepening America’s commitment to NATO by deploying missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic. And he proposed strengthening America’s Asian alliances in order to challenge Beijing in the South China Sea and preserve “the demilitarization of the Korean peninsula.”

Pence has forgotten his running mate’s slogan: America First. During the primaries, Trump stressed that his problem with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton wasn’t that they had retreated too much from America’s imperial role but that they had not retreated enough. New military commitments to NATO? In July, Trump told the New York Times he might not even uphold America’s current ones. Contain North Korea’s nuclear program? In March, Trump told the Times that, “every time North Korea raises its head, you know, we get calls from Japan and we get calls from everybody else, and ‘Do something.’ And there’ll be a point at which we’re just not going to be able to do it anymore … We’re not a rich country …. we cannot be the policeman of the world.” Challenge Russia over Ukraine? Trump told the Times that, “we are the least affected by what happens with Ukraine because we’re the farthest away … Why is it that countries that are bordering the Ukraine and near the Ukraine—why is it that they’re not more involved? Why is it that they are not more involved? Why is it always the United States that gets right in the middle of things?”

On Syria, Pence demanded that the U.S. confront Moscow and reassert America’s regional dominance, which is pretty much what Rubio, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and Carly Fiorina demanded during the primaries. And Trump slammed them for it. “They want to start World War III over Syria,” he declared in last September. “Give me a break. You know, Russia wants to get ISIS, right? We want to get ISIS. Russia is in Syria — maybe we should let them do it? Challenged in a November debate by Bush for his non-interventionist stances on Ukraine and Syria, Trump said the world was laughing at America’s imperial overstretch: “‘Keep going, you dummies, keep going. Protect us,’” Trump mimicked. “We have to get smart. We can’t continue to be the policeman of the world. We are $19 trillion dollars, we have a country that’s going to hell, we have an infrastructure that’s falling apart. Our roads, our bridges, our schools, our airports, and we have to start investing money in our country.”

Trump understands something that Pence does not: There are limits to American power.

Here again, Trump is more in touch with ordinary Republicans than Pence is. In recent years, Republicans haven’t only turned against free trade. They’ve turned against America’s imperial role more generally. A Pew Research Survey in March found that 62 percent of Republicans—as opposed to only 47 percent of Democrats—now want the United States to let other countries deal with their own problems. In June, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that only 57 percent of Republicans—as opposed to 81 percent of Democrats—consider NATO “essential” to America’s security.

Pence’s performance last night thrilled Republican elites because it conjured up a post-Trump future in which the GOP returns to normal, in which the party rededicates itself to economic globalization and military expansion. But that may be an illusion. As the GOP base grows more working class, it contains fewer voters sympathetic to a Chamber of Commerce, Weekly Standard view of the world. Republican elites can pretend that the only problem with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that Obama didn’t send enough soldiers to fight in them. But there’s a reason Trump insisted during the primaries that he opposed invading Iraq, and keeps insisting so today. He knows America’s post-9/11 wars have made Republicans, as well as Democrats, bitterly skeptical of the costs of maintaining America’s imperial footprint.

In his debate with Clinton, Trump mentioned ISIS more often than Pence did in his debate with Tim Kaine. Yet while Pence mentioned Syria nine times, Trump didn’t mention it once. That’s partly because of the questions they were asked. But it’s also because Trump understands that while GOP elites care about ensuring that America rather than Russia holds sway in the Middle East, many ordinary Republicans don’t. They just want the terrorists dead.

Pence may be smoother than Trump. He may be less obnoxious. But for all his bigotry and idiocy, Trump understands something that Pence does not: There are limits to American power. He understands that because America’s resources are finite, America’s foreign goals must be too. He understands that simultaneously confronting every adversary on every front is not a strategy. It’s the opposite of a strategy.

Unfortunately for GOP elites, ordinary Republicans understand that too. Which is why I’m not so sure that Mike Pence is the Republican Party’s future. And I’m not so sure he did as well last night as everyone thinks.

NEXT STORY: Trump vs. the Generals

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.