Where in the world is President Trump?
Normally, this would be a question bordering on the absurd. We usually know exactly where he is and exactly what he’s doing. He has a small filter (some would say no filter at all), a living, breathing, talking id. His tweets power the news cycle on television, his gripes make the front pages, and his improvisations are gems for reporters covering the White House beat.
But until Friday’s mini-presser with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was ensconced in the White House residence complaining about everything under the sun. This week, the Washington Post painted a picture of a president who is agitated about a free press he considers incredibly unfair (one of Trump’s favorite words) and inherently biased regardless of how great the economy is or how successful he’s been in dominating the GOP. He feels the walls closing in as the tight-lipped special counsel Robert Mueller is widely thought to be preparing more indictments.
While Trump is brooding in the residence and playing the victim, Vice President Mike Pence is taking the role of the statesman – chatting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, pressuring China to stop acting like an imperial power in the South China Sea, and reiterating the U.S. policy of flying and sailing anywhere international law allows. While Pence is talking with Asian heads-of-state in Singapore about wrapping up a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, Trump is tweeting about how terrible his own Justice Department is.
Pence may be vice president, but he’s often asked to take on the role of interim president during times when Trump is either obsessed with the special counsel investigation or is dealing with other matters of domestic importance. Of course, having the vice president fill in for the president from time to time is nothing new. It’s actually quite normal; Former President Barack Obama sent Joe Biden to serve as a substitute when he was too busy to deliver a speech or attend an event overseas. If a president is pressed for time or dealing with a Washington-created crisis, the vice president is the perfect placeholder.
Yet one can’t escape the feeling that Pence is more than a typical vice president. Serving a president bogged down by a never-ending swirl of scandals about porn star payments, possible Russian collusion, standoffs with the media, and battles with his own advisers, Pence is more than just a number-two: he’s a vice president-plus. While he defends his boss when he’s forced to, he’s also tried to separate himself from the chaos enveloping the West Wing, whether it’s infighting among the staff, the personal foibles of the current occupant in the Oval Office, or any number of negative news stories about Trump and the Russia investigation.
United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley was able to successfully separate herself when she needed to. But Haley also had the benefit of living in New York, a five-hour train ride from Washington. Pence’s ability to perform the jujitsu act is far more impressive, one which will likely get harder when “Trump-Pence 2020” signs and campaign mailers start reappearing on lawns and under front porches.
Daniel DePetris (@DanDePetris) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. His opinions are his own.
