Donald Trump And Gov. Mike Pence Give Us Another Reason To Avoid Indiana

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jul 14, 2016 6:10PM

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets Indiana Gov. Mike Pence at the Grand Park Events Center on July 12, 2016. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)

Donald Trump is slated to name Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running-mate Friday, according to multiple news reports.

Pence, who doesn't particularly like Syrian refugees or LGBTQ people who want to patronize Indiana businesses, is a social conservative who could help the presumptive Republican nominee win favor with the party traditionalists who have been wary of Trump's political ascendance (and his grab-bag of xenophobic and downright nutty policies recommendations).

But Pence has apparently not always fallen in line with Trump. The Indiana Star has a handy checklist of policy issues on which the pair have disagreed, including Trump's promise for a "complete and total shutdown" of Muslims entering the U.S., suggestion that women should be punished if they seek an illegal abortion.

An Indiana native, Pence is a former congressman who served as chairman of the Republican Study Committee and chairman of the House Republican Conference, according to the Indiana Star. As governor of Indiana, Pence is perhaps most well known for signing the highly controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law last year. Many criticized the law for being designed to allow Christian business owners to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

Trump is expected to announce Pence as his pick for vice president Friday, ahead of the Republican National Convention which kicks off in Cleveland on July 18. As of Thursday afternoon, Trump's campaign reps are still insisting to reporters that he has not made a decision about his vice presidential pick. According to the NYTimes, his campaign has also discussed the search for a VP with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Alabama Se. Jeff Sessions and former house speaker Newt Gingrich.