Mike Pence Is More Important Than Ever for Trump

When Donald Trump selected him as his running mate in July 2016, Mike Pence was seen largely as a way to ensure that social conservatives and evangelicals skeptical of Trump would turn out to vote for him. Like most vice presidential picks, Pence was meant to serve a specific but limited purpose. A red-state governor with strong ties to the most conservative elements of the Republican Party, and more than a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives, Pence could shore up Trump’s lack of experience, and at least on paper, he looked like the perfect political counterweight to a flamethrowing outsider.

A little more than a year later, amid the backbiting, tumult, and controversy that have defined Trump’s presidency, Pence remains exactly what he was brought in to be—a rare pillar of calm, polished professionalism. He’s avoided West Wing knife fights, managing not to make enemies in a White House riven by rival factions and power struggles. Pence has also tactfully steered clear of making any significant slights or public contradictions of the president and wisely avoided what’s perhaps the gravest sin in Trump World—overshadowing the boss.