Donald Trump Selects Mike Pence as VP
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Presumptive Republican nominee for US presidential elections Donald Trump called Indiana Governor Mike Pence and offered him the vice presidential slot on his ticket, CNN has learned. Pence has accepted.
The pick sets up a stark clash in styles: a brash presumptive nominee with a tendency to freelance into controversies alongside a cautious former congressional leader who's stuck close to conservative orthodoxy since starting his career in talk radio.
Trump said Thursday evening he's postponing the official announcement, previously set for Friday morning.
"In light of the horrible attack in Nice, France, I have postponed tomorrow's news conference concerning my vice presidential announcement," he tweeted.
Trump also did his best to keep the drama going after a frenetic day.
On Wednesday, Trump held a series of auditions with Pence and other top contenders including Christie and Gingrich.
And on Thursday, despite sources indicating to CNN that Trump was strongly leaning toward Pence, others in his inner circle -- including Trump's son, Donald Jr. -- repeatedly urged caution.
But by early evening, Trump made the offer.
Trump had initially suggested he would wait until the Republican National Convention to unveil his vice presidential choice, but Indiana law forced his hand. Candidates can't run for both federal and state office after July 15, meaning Pence had to withdraw his name from his re-election race for governor.
Pence, 57, was born in Columbus, Indiana, a town about 40 miles south of Indianapolis, where his father ran a chain of gas stations.
In 1991, Pence became the president of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, and in 1993 began his own syndicated radio show based in Rushville, Indiana -- performing as a self-described Rush Limbaugh on decaf.
By 2009, Pence had risen to become the House Republican Conference chairman, a position he occupied as a leader of the party's socially conservative flank.
He was an early ally of the tea party, and chaired the Republican Study Committee. But as governor, Pence struggled in the shadow of Mitch Daniels, his predecessor who backed away from a presidential campaign of his own in 2014.
In joining Trump's ticket, he leaves Indiana Republicans to replace him in what was expected to be a hard-fought re-election battle against Democratic former state House Speaker John Gregg.
