Republican VP candidate Mike Pence had a cringeworthy moment Thursday when a child pointed out his obvious role as Donald Trump’s damage control.
“I’ve been watching the news lately, and I’ve been noticing that you’ve been kind of softening up on Mr. Trump’s policies and words,” Matthew Stricker, 11, told Pence at a town hall in North Carolina. “Is this going to be your role in the administration?”
Pence did his best to turn the awkward moment into “kids say the darndest things”-style amusement.
“What’s your name, son?” Pence asked Matthew, bending down at the waist to face him. “Let me tell you what, I couldn’t be more proud to stand with Donald Trump and we are shoulder to shoulder in this campaign, my friend.”
Then he did more softening up.
“What I’ve learned, Matthew—and you’ll learn it when you’re governor of North Carolina,” Pence said as the crowd giggled, “is sometimes things don’t always come out like you mean, right? And Donald Trump and I are absolutely determined to work together.”
This is not the first time a child has humiliated a vice presidential candidate. In 1992, Dan Quayle infamously attempted to correct a sixth-grader’s spelling of the word “potato,” urging him to spell it “potatoe.”