As u/catsfive said, Devastating is the PERFECT word for this entire exchange. It's so unbelievably cringe-inducing to watch Pence speak those tiresome declaratives while his eyes scan the crowd, finding the words for whichever pandering soundbite that will induce applause and broad agreement.
Pence accepts Tucker's premise and tries to bask in the glory of being considered a "prominent Christian leader." He draws on all his principles and practice of speech craft to weave together a response that makes him appear sincere and deeply thoughtful. He discussed that VERY MATTER with the "leader of the Orthodox church in Ukraine! He was assured that the Zelensky administration was NOT violating religious freedoms, they were merely nabbing some baddies that were double agents for Russia,disguising themselves under the holy cloth!
Because you see, I, Mike Pence, care about religious freedom and liberty! I am a religious man, as you all know and accept me to be, even Tucker agreed! The Russians are doing the bidding of evil on Earth, I felt it when I went there, and that's why we must...
Continue the war?
YES! CONTINUE THE WAR!
It's like watching a prey animal scurry free toward what it believes is safety, only to realize once its head turns forward that it has run right into the open jaws of the predator.
You asked one fucking guy who has a deep and obvious bias. You didn't care, and you don't care. You will overlook ANYTHING to continue this war. Even those "values" you purport to hold highest above all others.
When he starts to stammer that he won't stand for it I practically could feel the tension unfurling in the room. If Pence were an actual robot, gears and springs would've been ejecting from him and falling all over the floor.
I'm pretty sure by the end of it, one of the windows of that building was covered in flies like the fucking Amityville house, thousands of them trying to get in and affix themselves to his head. (The smell is what attracts them -- anyone want to guess? 💩)
This is what a real truth teller can do in the midst of these shameless liars. Tucker delivered a deathblow so succinct and accurate that it's no wonder Pence accidentally started to call him TRUMP.
That was a critical hit on par with the 2016 Republican debate stage.
Tucker NOT ONLY got Pence with the jumpscare by challenging him on what EVERYONE perceives as his biggest core value; he made Pence step and fall right into his own PILE OF SHIT and do breastrokes on the ground and smear himself head to toe in it, struggling like the craven little deathcult acolyte he TRULY IS in his pathetic attempt to get to his feet and get out of his own muck.
The best part? Tucker comes off as being more godly than Pence by a country mile.
Oh but it couldn't end there. Pence was indignant, he wanted to "strongly disagree" and move on to the safe zone; when Tucker pushed back on him and wouldn't let up it was infuriating. He wouldn't stand for it (because he fell into his own shit) if it was happening, but he didn't ask Zelensky himself, and he doesn't support a NATO ticket for Ukraine until after victory is achieved.
Probably realizing how dubious his whole shit smeared attempt at reasoning for continuing a barbaric conflict was coming off to the audience, Pence decides there is no depth he won't sink to, and brings up his son who is currently serving in the military, because I wouldn't ask Americans to send their sons to go die if I wouldn't send my own - I REALLY BELIEVE IN MY BULLSHIT!Hey, you know does that all the time? Biden! Nice work, Mike - you're really gettin' muddy now!
Not featured in my clip, the debate continues and Pence continues to drone on, ineffectual and ever more grating to the ears, about stockpiles, national defense needing investment to be rebuilt post-Biden, the tardiness of America in training Ukraine pilots and sending war machines and ordinance, if only Biden would send it faster, because Russia had the 2nd strongest military worldwide but now they have the 2nd strongest military in Ukraine - PAUSE FOR LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE - (ohmygod where is it?!? They always laugh when I do this line at the DynCorp benefit dinner!)
Finally Tucker has had enough of Pence beclowning himself and sets about putting the flybait flyweight out of his misery.
"I'm sorry Mr. Vice President, have you...I know you're running for President, you are distressed Ukraine does not have enough American tanks, every city in the United States has become MUCH WORSE over the past 3 years. Drive around. There's not one city that's gotten better and its VISIBLE.... our economy has degraded, the suicide rate has jumped.... public filth disorder and crime have risen exponentially... and you're concerned that Ukraine, a country most people can't find on a map, who have received tens of billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers, don't have enough tanks."
"I think it's a fair question to ask, like where's the concern for the United States in that."
Pence was exceedingly desperate to cut Tucker off, stop this madness and return to that deliberate, slower wavelength and pace that he was most comfortable and successful with audiences at. He muttered a "yeah" begrudgingly, forced into acknowledging the conditions of America being described, and seemed ready to interject again, to try anything to stop this veritable freight train coming at him with some kind of counterattack. But the audience was enthralled with Tucker's words and becoming more passionate and raucous by the second.
Normally wishing to project a veneer of calm and collected, the moment now loomed over Pence in a tidal swale. He was desperate to push back into this battle as fast and furiously as possible, watching the short yardage gains he had recovered by droning on ad nauseam about the Ukraine conflict be erased in mere seconds. He was down and down bad late in the 4th.
And finally when there was enough air returned to the room for him to speak, he returned fire without looking where he leapt, such was his desperation. You could see the whole enterprise he'd put together hanging in the balance, ready to either crash and burn, or be saved from the flames. All of it resting on the next reply out of his mouth. And out it came, with Pence not even knowing what he said as he said it.
"That's not my concern."
The silence that fell over the audience a mix of surprise, cringing and incredulousness.
What the fuck did he just say?
The United States is NOT HIS CONCERN?
Now, there's a tiny window of time following any moment like this when you can catch yourself and regain your balance. You need to have cat-like reflexes and a gut that's made of iron. You just took a huge body blow and you didn't remember to exhale, your diaphragm is going apeshit now; you got the wind knocked out of you. You can't breathe and your body is screaming at you to try and inhale; but somehow, you have to ignore your whole system panicking and stop fighting for air if you want to regain your composure in time to avoid the inevitable knockout blow that's coming.
We've seen this before. I remember John McCain in 2008 had a similar incident at a campaign rally. Unfortunately I forgot exactly what he said but it was universally regarded as an egregious error. Instead of simply collecting himself and halting right there in the moment to acknowledge he had made an error, he continued on as though he had intentionally said it backwards.
That's the ultimate in politician bullshit and people generally react awfully to it. The politician is taught to never let someone correct them or to correct themselves. There's an arrogant, inhuman quality to that which makes the listener despise them. You come across as being so big of an asshole you can't just say OOOPS I got that wrong.
You confused your audience in the moment and angered them in hindsight. That's not the move.
Now, everyone knows Pence misspoke. He didn't mean to say he wasn't concerned with America - BUT THAT'S WHAT HE SAID.
AND BECAUSE HE IS NOT AS GIFTED A SPEAKER NOR AS CALM AND COOL AS HE STYLES HIMSELF, HE JUST PRESSES AHEAD, BECLOWNING HIMSELF AND BLURTING NONSENSE BEFORE FINALLY JUST SKIPPING AHEAD TO HIS CONCLUSION STATEMENT.
So it sounds like this: No I'm not concerned about the state of affairs in America. That's not my concern. We've heard you give that same thing before, Tucker. It's my concern. I am concerned with fixing the mistakes of Biden when I take office, getting our economy on track, closing our open border, ending broken regulations and woke ideology that doesn't work for America. We will win the war in Ukraine and we will fix our country here at home.
I think I actually wrote a better version of it than the mush that came out of pence's stupid weird looking face. Guess what? It's still contradictory as all hell and even I don't have idea what is being talked about here.
You're not concerned with the country so you want to become President and then you'll.... fix the country?
Nah, I think you meant what you said by the first time. You're worried about Ukraine and JUST UKRAINE. You're not real, and whoever made you didn't design you against attacks by Tucker. You're one of those motherfuckers from the plane that lady was screaming and running away from. Thanks for letting us know.
Thais is a D- for an 8th grader reading his term paper to the class.
I looked for an infamous political moment to compare this to, those of us old enough to remember ones like "the Dean scream", Romney's "corporations are people too"... the real blew it in one moment types of gaffes that are among the most rare gifts of the election cycle in our country. Alas, I couldn't find much on dogshit YouTube, but maybe it was for the best because I think I landed on something which will do the moment even more justice....
As u/catsfive said, Devastating is the PERFECT word for this entire exchange. It's so unbelievably cringe-inducing to watch Pence speak those tiresome declaratives while his eyes scan the crowd, finding the words for whichever pandering soundbite that will induce applause and broad agreement.
Pence accepts Tucker's premise and tries to bask in the glory of being considered a "prominent Christian leader." He draws on all his principles and practice of speech craft to weave together a response that makes him appear sincere and deeply thoughtful. He discussed that VERY MATTER with the "leader of the Orthodox church in Ukraine! He was assured that the Zelensky administration was NOT violating religious freedoms, they were merely nabbing some baddies that were double agents for Russia, disguising themselves under the holy cloth!
Because you see, I, Mike Pence, care about religious freedom and liberty! I am a religious man, as you all know and accept me to be, even Tucker agreed! The Russians are doing the bidding of evil on Earth, I felt it when I went there, and that's why we must...
Continue the war?
YES! CONTINUE THE WAR!
It's like watching a prey animal scurry free toward what it believes is safety, only to realize once its head turns forward that it has run right into the open jaws of the predator.
You asked one fucking guy who has a deep and obvious bias. You didn't care, and you don't care. You will overlook ANYTHING to continue this war. Even those "values" you purport to hold highest above all others.
When he starts to stammer that he won't stand for it I practically could feel the tension unfurling in the room. If Pence were an actual robot, gears and springs would've been ejecting from him and falling all over the floor.
I'm pretty sure by the end of it, one of the windows of that building was covered in flies like the fucking Amityville house, thousands of them trying to get in and affix themselves to his head. (The smell is what attracts them -- anyone want to guess? 💩)
This is what a real truth teller can do in the midst of these shameless liars. Tucker delivered a deathblow so succinct and accurate that it's no wonder Pence accidentally started to call him TRUMP.
That was a critical hit on par with the 2016 Republican debate stage.
The best part? Tucker comes off as being more godly than Pence by a country mile.
Oh but it couldn't end there. Pence was indignant, he wanted to "strongly disagree" and move on to the safe zone; when Tucker pushed back on him and wouldn't let up it was infuriating. He wouldn't stand for it (because he fell into his own shit) if it was happening, but he didn't ask Zelensky himself, and he doesn't support a NATO ticket for Ukraine until after victory is achieved.
Probably realizing how dubious his whole shit smeared attempt at reasoning for continuing a barbaric conflict was coming off to the audience, Pence decides there is no depth he won't sink to, and brings up his son who is currently serving in the military, because I wouldn't ask Americans to send their sons to go die if I wouldn't send my own - I REALLY BELIEVE IN MY BULLSHIT! Hey, you know does that all the time? Biden! Nice work, Mike - you're really gettin' muddy now!
Not featured in my clip, the debate continues and Pence continues to drone on, ineffectual and ever more grating to the ears, about stockpiles, national defense needing investment to be rebuilt post-Biden, the tardiness of America in training Ukraine pilots and sending war machines and ordinance, if only Biden would send it faster, because Russia had the 2nd strongest military worldwide but now they have the 2nd strongest military in Ukraine - PAUSE FOR LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE - (ohmygod where is it?!? They always laugh when I do this line at the DynCorp benefit dinner!)
Finally Tucker has had enough of Pence beclowning himself and sets about putting the flybait flyweight out of his misery.
This was nothing less than epic poetry; as powerful as anything the muses whispered into the ears of Homer.
"I'm sorry Mr. Vice President, have you...I know you're running for President, you are distressed Ukraine does not have enough American tanks, every city in the United States has become MUCH WORSE over the past 3 years. Drive around. There's not one city that's gotten better and its VISIBLE.... our economy has degraded, the suicide rate has jumped.... public filth disorder and crime have risen exponentially... and you're concerned that Ukraine, a country most people can't find on a map, who have received tens of billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers, don't have enough tanks."
"I think it's a fair question to ask, like where's the concern for the United States in that."
Pence was exceedingly desperate to cut Tucker off, stop this madness and return to that deliberate, slower wavelength and pace that he was most comfortable and successful with audiences at. He muttered a "yeah" begrudgingly, forced into acknowledging the conditions of America being described, and seemed ready to interject again, to try anything to stop this veritable freight train coming at him with some kind of counterattack. But the audience was enthralled with Tucker's words and becoming more passionate and raucous by the second.
Normally wishing to project a veneer of calm and collected, the moment now loomed over Pence in a tidal swale. He was desperate to push back into this battle as fast and furiously as possible, watching the short yardage gains he had recovered by droning on ad nauseam about the Ukraine conflict be erased in mere seconds. He was down and down bad late in the 4th.
And finally when there was enough air returned to the room for him to speak, he returned fire without looking where he leapt, such was his desperation. You could see the whole enterprise he'd put together hanging in the balance, ready to either crash and burn, or be saved from the flames. All of it resting on the next reply out of his mouth. And out it came, with Pence not even knowing what he said as he said it.
"That's not my concern."
The silence that fell over the audience a mix of surprise, cringing and incredulousness.
What the fuck did he just say?
The United States is NOT HIS CONCERN?
Now, there's a tiny window of time following any moment like this when you can catch yourself and regain your balance. You need to have cat-like reflexes and a gut that's made of iron. You just took a huge body blow and you didn't remember to exhale, your diaphragm is going apeshit now; you got the wind knocked out of you. You can't breathe and your body is screaming at you to try and inhale; but somehow, you have to ignore your whole system panicking and stop fighting for air if you want to regain your composure in time to avoid the inevitable knockout blow that's coming.
We've seen this before. I remember John McCain in 2008 had a similar incident at a campaign rally. Unfortunately I forgot exactly what he said but it was universally regarded as an egregious error. Instead of simply collecting himself and halting right there in the moment to acknowledge he had made an error, he continued on as though he had intentionally said it backwards.
That's the ultimate in politician bullshit and people generally react awfully to it. The politician is taught to never let someone correct them or to correct themselves. There's an arrogant, inhuman quality to that which makes the listener despise them. You come across as being so big of an asshole you can't just say OOOPS I got that wrong.
You confused your audience in the moment and angered them in hindsight. That's not the move.
Now, everyone knows Pence misspoke. He didn't mean to say he wasn't concerned with America - BUT THAT'S WHAT HE SAID.
AND BECAUSE HE IS NOT AS GIFTED A SPEAKER NOR AS CALM AND COOL AS HE STYLES HIMSELF, HE JUST PRESSES AHEAD, BECLOWNING HIMSELF AND BLURTING NONSENSE BEFORE FINALLY JUST SKIPPING AHEAD TO HIS CONCLUSION STATEMENT.
So it sounds like this: No I'm not concerned about the state of affairs in America. That's not my concern. We've heard you give that same thing before, Tucker. It's my concern. I am concerned with fixing the mistakes of Biden when I take office, getting our economy on track, closing our open border, ending broken regulations and woke ideology that doesn't work for America. We will win the war in Ukraine and we will fix our country here at home.
I think I actually wrote a better version of it than the mush that came out of pence's stupid weird looking face. Guess what? It's still contradictory as all hell and even I don't have idea what is being talked about here.
You're not concerned with the country so you want to become President and then you'll.... fix the country?
Nah, I think you meant what you said by the first time. You're worried about Ukraine and JUST UKRAINE. You're not real, and whoever made you didn't design you against attacks by Tucker. You're one of those motherfuckers from the plane that lady was screaming and running away from. Thanks for letting us know.
Thais is a D- for an 8th grader reading his term paper to the class.
I looked for an infamous political moment to compare this to, those of us old enough to remember ones like "the Dean scream", Romney's "corporations are people too"... the real blew it in one moment types of gaffes that are among the most rare gifts of the election cycle in our country. Alas, I couldn't find much on dogshit YouTube, but maybe it was for the best because I think I landed on something which will do the moment even more justice....
🤫😳HERE LIES MIKE PENCE🙄😪
Man, Trump must have been laughing his ass off when he saw this.
Hope you've enjoyed my little write up about Poopy Pence. Remember the fly, and you will know his truth. It's all brown underneath. 🤣💩