Pence ‘who was not an avid golfer, probably would have preferred a CIA interrogation’: Kushner reveals ‘painful’ process of choosing vice president after Trump mocked future veep during a round at Bedminster
- Former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner revealed the ‘painful’ vetting process Vice President Mike Pence had to go through
- Trump invited Pence, then Indiana’s governor, to play golf with him at his Bedminster, New Jersey resort
- Pence ‘who was not an avid golfer and probably would have preferred a CIA interrogation,’ Kushner wrote
- Kushner’s new book, Breaking History: A White House Memoir, was released Tuesday
Former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner revealed the ‘painful’ vetting process Vice President Mike Pence had to go through to be selected to be Trump’s running mate: a round of golf at Bedminster.
‘I had no clue how painful this informal interview would be for Pence, who was not an avid golfer and probably would have preferred a CIA interrogation,’ Kushner wrote in his new book, Breaking History: A White House Memoir, which was released Tuesday.
Kushner wrote that he believed out of the three veepstakes finalists – former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Pence – the Indiana governor was the ‘perfect choice.’
Jared Kushner writes in his new book that former President Donald Trump (left) vetted then Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (right) to be his running mate by inviting him to Bedminster (pictured) to play a round of golf – which didn’t go well for the future VP
Jared Kushner’s book, Breaking History: a White House Memoir, was released Tuesday
‘A midwestern governor with experience in Washington as a congressman, he was respected by evangelicals, and his steady nature counterbalanced Trump’s enthusiasim,’ Kushner wrote.
Kushner took credit for telling Trump he should invite Pence to his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort so they could get to know each other.
The round of 18 holes, Kushner recalled, took four hours – double the time it usually took for Trump, a seasoned golfer, to get through a game.
‘At the end of their round Trump good-naturedly poked fun at Mike for notching a hole-in-zero on a par three, when he shot an actual par on the hole,’ Kushner said.
Pence’s inability to play golf didn’t disqualify him from earning a spot on the 2016 ticket.
While campaigning in Indiana, Trump had his kids fly out to meet Pence, where the eventual vice presidential nominee and his wife Karen gave them a tour of the governor’s mansion.
‘Since the visit was last minute, Karen displayed flowers she had picked from her garden that morning and served breakfast in aluminum takeout trays from a local restaurant,’ Kushner recalled.
Former Vice President Mike Pence (left) and Former President Donald Trump (right) – watching a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in May 2020 – had a falling out when Pence refused to go along with a scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election
Pence gave Trump the book The Forgotten Man, a history of the Great Depression.
Inside Pence wrote to Trump: ‘To Donald Trump, with great admiration for the way you have given voice to the Forgotten Men and Women of America.’
On Friday July 15, 2016, Trump made it official, announcing Pence as his running mate.
‘Over the next five years, I kept waiting for Pence to break character – to do what most politicians do behind the scenes and criticize others, complain about situaitons and, and push back on requests to travel to events – but he never did,’ Kushner wrote.
The Trump-Pence break-up came after Pence refused to overturn the election for Trump when he was chairing the joint session of Congress on January 6.
In the run-up to the counting of the Electoral College votes, Pence sent out a statement saying he didn’t have the power to pick and choose electors, derailing Trump and his allies’ scheme to overturn the election using fake Trump electors after falsely claiming widespread voter fraud.
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