*By Carlo Versano*
So far, Vice President Mike Pence has struck a remarkable political balance: portraying a seemingly limitless devotion to the president, sidestepping all the administration's controversies, and also seeding his own base of support for the possibility that Trump will leave office before his term is up.
Such is the argument of "Shadow President," a new book by political journalists Michael D'Antonio and Peter Eisner.
"Mike has a history of plausible deniability," Eisner said Monday in an interview on Cheddar, adding that the VP had "no reason" to pen the anonymous op-ed roiling the Capital.
Trump's second-in-command has calculated that blind allegiance to the president is in his best political interest, said Eisner, who added that Pence often appears to look at his boss with a "loving gaze," an observation that prompted George Will to [call] (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-no-longer-the-worst-person-in-government/2018/05/09/10e59eba-52f1-11e8-a551-5b648abe29ef_story.html?utm_term=.8d24abadf3d5) him "America's most repulsive public figure."
"He has been in lock step behind the president on every point," Eisner said.
One of Pence's main roles ー something that's always a central part of the VP gig ー has been to act as a surrogate for Trump, traversing the country and speaking to the president's grassroots supporters, often whipping up the crowd by saying, "I come here with greetings from the president of the United States."
In this case, Pence hopes he can turn that base of support into his own, should the time come, Eisner said.
If Pence becomes president, either by Trump's downfall or the rise of his own campaign, Americans should expect a continuation of Trump policies and an extreme ideological bend, said Eisner, who referred to Pence as "the most successful Christian supremacist in American history."
"Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence" is available in stores and online.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/what-would-a-pence-presidency-look-like).
As fears of a national debt default rise, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he isn't ruling out a short-term bill to raise the debt ceiling. At the same time, he said he doesn't think "the responsible thing is to kick the can down the road."
The Biden administration is starting work on new regulations it says will expand the rights of airline passengers.
In a TV interview Sunday, Yellen didn't rule out President Joe Biden acting on his own to try to avert a first-ever federal default.
North Carolina lawmakers on Thursday approved and sent to the governor a ban on nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, down from the current 20 weeks, in response to last year’s overturning of Roe v. Wade at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas joins other members of the Supreme Court as they pose for a new group portrait, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022. A Republican megadonor paid two years of private school tuition for a child raised by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who did not disclose the payments, a lawyer who has represented Thomas and his wife acknowledged Thursday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three other members of the far-right extremist group were convicted Thursday of a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol.
Florida Republicans on Wednesday approved bills to ban diversity programs in colleges and prevent students and teachers from being required to use pronouns that don't correspond to someone's sex, building on top priorities of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
New York state is banning natural gas stoves and furnaces in most new buildings in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Authorities in the U.S. and Europe arrested nearly 300 people, confiscated over $53 million, and seized a dark web marketplace as part of an international crackdown on drug trafficking that officials say was the largest operation of its kind.
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has stepped down shortly after apologizing for accepting a payment of $10,000 per month from a consultancy firm for a marijuana company.
