Mike Pence Admits Trump Said He’d Punish Women For Abortion

Mike Pence (photo by Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

One theme of the vice-presidential debate was Democrat Tim Kaine repeatedly asking Republican Mike Pence to defend various statements made by his running mate Donald Trump. On most occasions Pence simply replied that Kaine was waging a “campaign of insults” and that Trump — according to Pence — hadn’t actually said much of what Kaine attributed to him.

But when Kaine attacked Trump for having said that women who get abortions should “receive some form of punishment,” Pence didn’t deny Trump had said it. Instead he offered an explanation. Pence said the GOP ticket would never support punishing women who sought abortions. The reason Trump said that, Pence explained, is that “he’s not a polished politician.”