Between this and the way that Mike Pence feuded with openly gay Olympian Adam Rippon, some can"t help but wonder if Mike Pence is gearing up for a run of his own in 2020.
This time, the Vice President is feuding with The View host Joy Behar after she, based upon Omarosa"s description of him, suggested that he might have mental illness. You can see that video in its full context, below.
Mike Pence says that a criticism of him is a criticism of all Christians.
One could argue that this whole thing — Pence and Trump and the current state of US politics — started with Reagan or Falwell decades ago, but this immediate feud? That started with Omarosa Manigault.
Omarosa, being about as qualified to work in the White House as your average Trump Team member — meaning that she was someone he"d met — is no longer working in the Trump White House. In fact, she says that she is "haunted" by Trump"s tweets.
Welcome to the club, Omarosa.
After being booted from the White House, Omarosa returned to more familiar territory by joining the cast of Celebrity Big Brother.
On the show, speaking about Mike Pence, Omarosa said:
"As bad as you think Trump is, you would be worried about Pence — everyone that is wishing for impeachment might want to reconsider their life."
She continues, saying: "I am Christian. I love Jesus, but he thinks Jesus tells him to say things"
While that"s no surprise to anyone who"s even heard of Mike Pence, it became quite the topic of conversation. Including on The View.
As you"ll see in the video below in its full context, Joy Behar commented:
"It’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you. That’s called mental illness, if I’m [correct], hearing voices."
They discussed it on the view, and it was correctly pointed out that descriptions of religious experiences often include communication in both directions.
That"s not the same thing as auditory hallucinations.
Mike Pence apparently concluded that it was totally appropriate for him to fire back at the The View host for her remarks.
Speaking on C-SPAN, Pence said: "My faith sustains me in all that I do."
Pence said that Behar"s statement was an insult to the "vast majority of the American people who cherish faith."
About 70% of the US population is Christian, of one denomination or another. It is unclear if Mike Pence is including other Americans of faith in his statement.
"It demonstrates how out of touch some in the mainstream media are with the faith and values of the American people that you could have a major network like ABC permit a forum for invective against religion like that."
To be clear, it didn"t really sound like Joy Behar was bashing religion in general. As one can see below, she acknowledges that that prayer and "talking to God" are pretty standard fare for Christians.
What gives her pause is the idea that Mike Pence believes that he is speaking and acting on instructions from his God. Plenty of people through history have felt that way.
Some of them, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, have made great strides in defending human rights.
Others have been … absolute monsters.
It"s good for someone to believe that they"re living well and in accordance with their faith. Some worry about someone who believes that their divine blessing calls them to do terrible things in the name of their religion, however.
Omarosa"s statement wasn"t the first that people have heard about Mike Pence"s worrisome beliefs.
For one thing, the state of Indiana shouted warnings about Pence during the 2016 election cycle.
For another, Donald Trump himself has "joked" that Mike Pence would like to see all gay people hang. Whether Trump meant that literally or not, most people don"t see that as any laughing matter.
As for Omarosa"s warning that Pence would somehow be even worse than Trump, it"s not just that it"s a hard concept to grasp for most Americans — most of those who hope for impeachment, removal from office, and arrest also hope that Pence gets the same.
Many believe that Mike Pence was complicit in the various horrors that may lead to Trump"s impeachment. Only time will tell.
In the mean time, watch this video for yourself and decide if Joy Behar went too far or if she was just a talk show host being a talk show host.
