Ahead of Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, NBC’s Today spent the morning putting all the pressure on Indiana Governor Mike Pence to “clean up” after Donald Trump and predicted that the Republican running mate would be stuck on “defense” all evening.
Correspondent Hallie Jackson led off the morning show’s political coverage by proclaiming: “Tonight it’ll be Mike pence playing clean-up on the many controversies Donald Trump's trying to shake.” After listing several of those controversies, she concluded: “But after one of Trump's worst weeks yet, it’s Pence who will again be forced to defend the top of his ticket...”
Jackson only briefly noted that Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine would be trying to “boost [Hillary] Clinton's appeal with millennials.” No mention was a made of a single Clinton scandal or controversy.
In a discussion that followed, co-host Matt Lauer declared: “I have to say, I don't envy Mike Pence tonight. He's taking to the debate stage opposite Tim Kaine in the middle of what is perhaps the worst week and a half for Donald Trump during this campaign. Tim Kaine has a lot of ammunition.”
Political analyst Nicolle Wallace agreed: “...this is the worst stretch that Trump has had since he went to war with the gold star family, the Khans, after the Democratic convention. He may as well bring a mop and a bucket tonight because he’s going to spend the whole debate, I think, on defense, cleaning up some of the messes that Donald Trump has made for himself.”
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Co-host Savannah Guthrie at least credited Pence for standing up to the media onslaught: “On the other hand, this is not new work to Mike Pence....We've had him on the set, he gets asked about various controversies. And he has shown himself able to deflect and move on.”
Wallace acknowledged: “I mean, he is a calming presence. He has given some GOP hand-wringers a lot of, sort of, reassurance that Trump can be steadier, and he answers that temperament question.”
Lauer attempted to actually ask about how Kaine would defend Clinton: “If Trump had a good moment in the debate last week, I think it was when he was kind of labeling Hillary Clinton as a 30-year career politician, not an agent of change. So that's going to come up tonight, Pence is going to hit Kaine with that. How does Kaine answer that?”
Wallace dismissed the question: “And if you look at the other side of being there for a long time is not being prepared. So I think there’s a ready response. But Pence isn't exactly the perfect messenger for change. He's been in the government for a very long time.”
Here is a full transcript of the October 4 discussion with Wallace:
7:11 AM ET
MATT LAUER: What do you say we bring in Nicolle Wallace. Nicolle, good morning to you.
NICOLLE WALLACE: Good morning, guys.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: VP Candidates Square Off Tonight; What Do Pence & Kaine Need to Accomplish?]
LAUER: I have to say, I don't envy Mike Pence tonight.
WALLACE: No.
LAUER: He's taking to the debate stage opposite Tim Kaine in the middle of what is perhaps the worst week and a half for Donald Trump during this campaign. Tim Kaine has a lot of ammunition. What should Pence's strategy be?
WALLACE: Well, listen, I agree with you, this is the worst stretch that Trump has had since he went to war with the gold star family, the Khans, after the Democratic convention. He may as well bring a mop and a bucket tonight because he’s going to spend the whole debate, I think, on defense, cleaning up some of the messes that Donald Trump has made for himself. These are self-inflicted wounds. Which whenever we see the polls swing the way we see this morning, it is almost always because of this kind of debacle that Donald Trump says something and then he digs in, he tweets something and makes it worse.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: On the other hand, this is not new work to Mike Pence. I mean, he has basically been doing this on the trail. We've had him on the set, he gets asked about various controversies. And he has shown himself able to deflect and move on. So can he potentially help Trump at this moment in the hour of his need?
WALLACE: You know, I was critical of the pick, I called it off Trump’s brand, but he is the perfect yin to Trump's yang, clang, clang. I mean, he is a calming presence. He has given some GOP hand-wringers a lot of, sort of, reassurance that Trump can be steadier, and he answers that temperament question. So I think when more people see him, I mean, I think the piece was absolutely right, most people have no idea who either of them are. Trump can be a reassuring presence for the ticket – Pence, I’m sorry – for the Trump ticket.
LAUER: If Trump had a good moment in the debate last week, I think it was when he was kind of labeling Hillary Clinton as a 30-year career politician, not an agent of change. So that's going to come up tonight, Pence is going to hit Kaine with that. How does Kaine answer that?
WALLACE: Well, listen, I think you have to lean into it. And if you look at the other side of being there for a long time is not being prepared. So I think there’s a ready response. But Pence isn't exactly the perfect messenger for change. He's been in the government for a very long time. He was in the Congress. He’s the sitting governor of Indiana. So I think it’s a complicated message. Trump is much better suited to deliver a change message than Pence ever will be.
LAUER: Nicolle, thank you very much.
WALLACE: We’ll be watching.
LAUER: Yes, ma’am, we will. And you can watch the debate starting at 9 Eastern, right here on NBC.
