It seems that all white men of a certain age have a podcast (hosting data backs this up) and former vice president Mike Pence is now no exception. The Young America's Foundation announced on Friday that Pence, who is serving as the organization's Ronald Regan Presidential Scholar, plans to launch a video podcast "to share the good news of conservatism through one of today's most popular mediums."
Through the position, Pence will also publish a monthly op-ed, speak at conferences and embark upon a cross-country campus lecture series for the conservative group, which is known for bringing inflammatory anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim speakers to college campuses
"Now more than ever, we need to take the case for freedom, free markets, and traditional values to the rising generation and I look forward to working with the great YAF team to ensure the torch of freedom shines bright for generations to come," Pence said in a release.
Public details about the proposed podcast are still sparse, but stepping behind a microphone won't be entirely new for Pence. The former Indiana governor spent the '90s hosting "The Mike Pence Show," which positioned him as a relatively prominent Midwestern conservative radio personality — a reputation upon which he built his eventual political career and 2000 election to Congress.
As Politico reported in 2016, "The Mike Pence" show dedicated a lot of time to Indiana news, some bashing of the Clintons and the "global warming myth," and at least a couple episodes railing against adultery.
"I mean, is adultery no longer a big deal in Indiana and in America? I'd just love to know your thoughts because I for one believe that the seventh commandment contained in the Ten Commandments is still a big deal," Pence said.
He continued:"I maintain that other than promises that we make of fidelity in our faith, the promises that we make to our spouses and to our children, the promises that we make in churches and in synagogues and marriage ceremonies around this, it's the most important promise you'll ever make. And holding people accountable to those promises and holding people accountable to respecting the promises that other people make, I, to me, what could possibly be a bigger deal than that in this country?"
It should be noted that, obviously, Pence's hardline stance on accountability for adulterous politicians didn't extend to former president Donald Trump, who, throughout his presidency, was accused of making hush payments to at least two women — adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal — with whom he allegedly had affairs.
According to a Monday Associated Press report, former Trump attorney-turned-critic Michael Cohen interviewed Daniels in the latest episode of his own podcast, "Mea Culpa," in which he apologized for "the needless pain" he put Daniels through when he arranged a $130,000 payment during the 2016 presidential campaign to keep her quiet about an alleged dalliance with Trump a decade earlier.
However, Pence's silence surrounding Trump's behavior only got him so far. His relationship with Trump became publicly strained following his certification of Joe Biden's election in the Senate and the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, during which rioters erected gallows and chanted "Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!"
As Politico reports, Pence's podcast — as well as his larger role with the Young America Foundation — could be viewed as "an effort to smooth his transition back into the upper ranks of the conservative movement" as he reportedly weighs a book deal and a future presidential bid of his own in 2024.
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