Hillary Clinton‘s campaign spoke out against Donald Trump‘s pick for vice president, Mike Pence, in a statement on Friday, July 15, just minutes after Trump confirmed the news on Twitter.
“Donald Trump has doubled down on some of his most disturbing beliefs by choosing an incredibly divisive and unpopular running mate known for supporting discriminatory politics and failed economic policies that favor millionaires and corporations over working families,” Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, said in the statement.
Podesta went on to note the Indiana governor’s involvement in the Tea Party, calling him “the most extreme pick in a generation” and condemning his legislative record.
“As governor, Pence personally spearheaded an anti-LGBT law that legalized discrimination against the LGBT community, alienated businesses, caused boycotts, lost investments and embarrassed Hoosiers — a law he was later forced to revise,” the statement read.
“Pence also personally led the fight to defund Planned Parenthood while serving in the House and fought to pass Indiana’s 2016 anti-abortion law, with some of the most outrageous restrictions in the country that threatened women’s privacy and limited their choice. And just like Trump, he’s been a long-time opponent of comprehensive immigration reform.”
Clinton’s campaign further criticized Pence’s labor and economic policies, saying he “opposes raising the federal minimum wage and signed a law allowing skilled workers in Indiana to be paid less.”
“Voters deserve better than more of their divisive policies and ‘me-first’ economic proposals,” Podesta concluded. “This new Trump-Pence ticket stands in dramatic contrast to Hillary Clinton’s vision of our future — one where we are stronger together, where unity prevails over division and the economy works for all Americans, not just those at the top.”
Reports about Pence’s name on the Republican ticket had started circulating earlier in the week. Trump planned to hold a press conference about the announcement on Friday, but he postponed the event after the Bastille Day terror attack in Nice, France.
