The Manifest Destiny of Mike Pence

Radio Atlantic

The Atlantic

Politics, News, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2017

⏱️ 53 minutes

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Summary

That Pence is the vice president of the United States is "a loaves-and-fishes miracle," writes McKay Coppins in the latest issue of The Atlantic. It's remarkable enough that "an embattled small-state governor with underwater approval ratings, dismal reelection prospects, and a national reputation in tatters" would be chosen as a presidential running mate at all. But unlikelier still is the fact that Pence, known for his devotion to Christ, would become the most prominent character witness for President Donald Trump. How did Pence reconcile his deeply held Christian values with his defense of Donald Trump after the revelation of the Access Hollywood recording? Would he support Trump if the presidency were within his own reach? And what do his decisions illuminate about evangelical Christians' attachment to the president? In this conversation, McKay shares what he's learned about Pence from reporting on his stints as governor, radio host, and frat snitch. Links – “God’s Plan for Mike Pence” (McKay Coppins, January/February 2018 Issue) – “The Odds of Impeachment Are Dropping” (Peter Beinart, December 3, 2017) – “Jared Kushner Responds (Very Briefly) to Flynn's Plea Deal” (Uri Friedman, December 3, 2017)“Should Christian Bakers Be Allowed to Refuse Wedding Cakes to Gays?” (Conor Friedersdorf, February 25, 2014) – “If Indiana's Religious-Freedom Law Isn't Discriminatory, Why Change It?” (David A. Graham, March 31, 2015) – Adiós Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art Since 1950 – “Terry McAuliffe’s Dead-Serious Advice For Democrats: Have Some Fun!” (Ruby Cramer, BuzzFeed News, December 3, 2017) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is seen as a humble man of faith, and yet he's among the most stalwart defenders of President Donald Trump, who's not, perhaps, our most obvious exemplar of Christian godliness.
0:12.0	How does Pence balance his devotion to God with his devotion to the
0:15.1	president? And how far do his own ambitions stretch? This is Radio Atlantic. Hi, I'm Matt Thompson, Executive Editor of the Atlantic. I'm here with my co-host, my esteemed co-host, as always,
0:40.1	Alex Wagner. Hello Alex. Am I esteemed always?
0:43.0	You are always esteemed.
0:44.0	Oh, Matt.
0:45.0	Matt, you're too kind.
0:48.0	It's good to be here, my friend.
0:50.0	Good to have you. We are missing our other esteemed co-host Jeffrey Goldberg who is off
0:54.4	Galavant things somewhere doing estimable things.
0:57.4	Estimable things indeed. It has been a newsy several weeks got a giant tax we got new turns in Robert Mueller's investigation, more powerful
1:06.5	men who are being confronted with allegations of predatory behavior, there is a lot going
1:10.7	on, Alex.
1:11.7	Yeah, I would say so.
1:15.0	It's become incredibly tedious to say it was a newsy week,
1:18.0	but really, Matt, you are right.
1:19.0	It has been a newsy week.
1:22.0	Where to begin? Well, we wanted to talk this week about none of that
1:25.2	but about a figure who's lurked in the background through all of that. Vice
1:29.6	President Mike Pence in the most recent issue of the Atlantic, our staff writer
1:34.0	McKay Coppins has given us a profile of the Vice President that offers a
1:37.4	really interesting window not just on him, but on President Trump, on
	...

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