Former Vice President Mike Pence has strongly criticized President Donald Trump’s economic policies for his second term, especially the president’s wide-ranging tariff plan. Pence warns that these tariffs will cause a major “price shock” for American consumers, leading to shortages and ultimately hurting the US economy. 6z5x6v

His criticisms, shared in an interview with CNN, are some of his most detailed objections to the current istration. Pence’s main worry is about the economic effects of Trump’s broad tariffs, which apply to both allies and rivals. He argues that this is very different from the focused tariff strategy used during Trump’s first term, when tariffs were aimed at specific countries to address unfair trade practices.

Instead of this targeted approach, Pence believes the current istration is pushing a kind of “new industrial policy” that will cause inflation, hurting consumers and the economy overall. According to Pence, the istration itself has itted that when the current 90-day halt on mutual tariffs ends, prices will likely rise, and some goods will become harder to find.

Pence is against Trump’s tariffs 1r2135

Pence’s warning about a “price shock” is not just a guess. He points to Trump’s own remarks downplaying the possible effects, such as suggesting that children might have fewer toys that cost a little more, as proof that the istration is not taking the economic risks seriously enough. Pence argues that affordable goods are essential for American families and that keeping everyday items within reach is part of the “American dream.”

Pence said, “I do have a concern that when the so-called 90 day pause comes off, that even the istration has conceded that there may be a price shock in the economy, and there may be shortages.” He predicts that people will eventually see the harm caused by this policy and demand a change.

Pence’s criticism goes beyond just economics. He clearly separates his own for free trade from Trump’s approach. While he acknowledges some successes in trade deals during Trump’s first term, like renegotiating agreements with Canada and Mexico and placing targeted tariffs on Chinese imports, he says he believes in “free trade with free nations.”

He wants free-world trading partners to work together to lower trade barriers. This is very different from Trump’s broader tariff strategy, which Pence sees as careless and harmful to the US. Beyond economic policy, Pence has also disagreed with other key parts of Trump’s second term.

He said he was deeply disappointed by Trump’s decision to pardon over 1,600 people involved in the January 6 Capitol riot, calling it “the wrong message.” This is especially meaningful for Pence, who faced threats from rioters that day while doing his constitutional duty to confirm the 2020 election results. He specifically said he was troubled by the pardons for those who attacked police officers.

Pence also criticized the istration’s inconsistent position on the war in Ukraine. He directly disagreed with Trump’s repeated claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants peace, saying Putin’s actions show he wants Ukrainian land. Pence believes that the istration’s uncertain for Ukraine has encouraged Russia and worries that without strong US backing, Russia may become even more aggressive.

This clashes with Pence’s belief in a strong US role in global affairs and his for sending military aid to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion. He also criticized Trump’s idea of annexing Canada, stressing the importance of the long-standing US-Canada alliance.

During the 2024 presidential campaigns, both candidates presented their economic plans to the American voters. Much of what President Trump promised — such as a 10% to 20% tariff on imports across the board — has already been actualized. Yet some of his closest former and current ers, including his former Vice President Mike Pence, still claim to be shocked.

Former VP Pence took to The Wall Street Journal to write an opinion piece questioning Trump’s recent presidential decisions, particularly his economic ones. In the piece, Pence encourages Trump to continue his “targeted tariffs” on China but urges him to consider free trade with allied nations. He specifically mentions Europe and Pacific allies as regions that should be exempt.

Pence also points out that while Elon Musk’s DOGE has made headlines and eliminated several agencies accused of wasteful spending, government expenditure has actually risen by 8.5%. He calls the Liberation Day tariffs the highest tax hikes in American history during peacetime. That framing is telling. Most Republicans have avoided labeling the tariffs tax hikes and pretend Americans are shielded from their effects. Perhaps the most damning statement is when Pence writes, “Economic warning signs are flashing. The first quarter of 2025 marked the second-worst economic start for a presidential istration since Richard Nixon.”

However, before assuming Pence has gone all in as an anti-Trump Republican, the opinion piece reads as more strategic. Pence goes out of his way to also praise Trump for securing the southern border. He describes Trump’s instincts on security and sovereignty as sharp as ever.

Pence’s effort to play both sides appears to be a political ploy. It’s not to appease Trump but to buy time with the MAGA base. He’s likely plotting his future political moves while distancing himself from Trump 2.0’s economic policies. It’s unlikely the two have much mutual respect. Publicly, Trump still hasn’t moved past his 2020 loss to Joe Biden and continues to partially blame Pence for “lacking courage” during the insurrection. What Trump specifically means by that remains an open secret. Still, Pence showed interest in the presidency during the 2024 campaign. If he plans to run again, these are precisely the kinds of subtle moves he should be making at this stage.

For now, despite a declining approval rating across the board, Trump still has a strong base among MAGA ers. Few Republicans are willing to stand up to him as a result. It’s not just Republicans — Amazon reportedly considered adding and marking the Trump tariffs on its platform. However the company appeared to backtrack after the Trump istration labeled the move a “political act.”

During the 2024 campaigns, both Trump and former VP Kamala Harris presented their economic plans. CNN reported that among 23 U.S. Nobel Laureates in Economics, all declared Harris’s plan vastly superior. Experts never expected Trump’s policies to succeed. His former allies — perhaps even some current ones — may simply be waiting for things to collapse before turning on him. It wouldn’t be surprising if that’s exactly what former VP Mike Pence is attempting here.

Mike Pence has been on the outs with Donald Trump since 2020. To be fair to Pence, we’d be annoyed too if our boss whipped a crowd of lunatics into a frenzy as they erected gallows to hang us from.

Pence even stood against Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, though dropped out mere months later when it became apparent that his popularity among the MAGA crowd was at rock bottom. He refused to even endorse Trump during the election, didn’t attend the Republican convention, and generally stayed quiet even as journalists pestered him for his opinion.

Well, now Trump’s bonkers tariffs plan has seen him break cover, describing it as effectively “the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history” and estimating that each and every American family will be $3,500 a year poorer:

The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history. These Tariffs are nearly 10x the size of those imposed during the Trump-Pence istration and will cost American families over $3,500 per year. Check Out“Spoiling America’s Golden Age”@AmericanFreedom pic.twitter.com/2NghyDc8c1

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) April 2, 2025

He’s probably right, not that this matters. Pence was chewed up and spat out by Trump, and if he actually had any strong convictions he should have expressed them when they might have made a difference, either during the election or in Trump’s first term. In a unique moment, both sides of the political spectrum have united to tell Pence: “no one cares what you think“.

MAGA is telling him that he’s pointlessly grandstanding:

You, @Mike_Pence, are intentionally misleading people. You know full well that @realDonaldTrump's plan for RECIPROCAL TARIFFS will FORCE THE HAND OF THOSE NATIONS WHO ARE ALREADY IMPOSING TARIFFS ON US! They remove/lower their tariffs on us and we reciprocate. STOP GRANDSTANDING!

— Shane Pitman (@ShanePitman) April 3, 2025

While liberals are saying he’s partially responsible for this whole mess:

Mike Pence helped create this economic wrecking ball—and now he wants to pretend he’s just a spectator?

You stood by while Trump wrecked our democracy.
You cheered on chaos and tax cuts for billionaires.

Now you care about working families?

Spare us.#StopProject2025 #NoKings

— No Kings Here (@Stop_Project25) April 2, 2025

We can only agree that Mike Pence has had his time in the limelight and nobody needs to hear from him again, whatever his current political stance might be. He’s currently working on and off as a lecturer at Pennsylvania’s Grove City College, where we guess he’s at least speaking to students who are interested in what he’s got to say.

In the meantime we’d be happy if we never heard the name Mike Pence again. That said, we have a sneaking iration for anyone so politically cack-handed that almost everyone with political views hates your guts.

According to Donald Trump, his istration has already hired “over 1,000 people for the United States Government,” although he’s specified that he doesn’t want anyone who’s worked with or been endorsed by a list of figures he claims still have “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Posting to Truth Social (which he still insists on posting to for some reason), the soon-to-be president took some time to commend himself for apparently already hiring over 1,000 new government employees. He also promised that American citizens would soon see the fruits of the new hires labor in the coming years, proudly proclaiming: “We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and it will happen very quickly!”

It seems Trump is still looking to fill more roles in the government, but he’s requested that nobody recommend people associated with those on Trump’s TDS list. As you can imagine, it’s quite a long list that essentially boils down to individuals that he considers to be his enemy. Of course, that greatly narrows down the viable options for government roles, as it’s probably very difficult to find intelligent people with the correct qualifications who don’t actually hate Donald’s guts.

Who is on the “Trump Derangement Syndrome” list? 5h4r2d

According to Trump, “Dumb as a Rock” John Bolton, “Birdbrain” Nikki Haley, ”disloyal warmonger” Dick Cheney, and his “psycho daughter” Liz, all make the list for people he considers to be exhibiting symptoms of TDS. But there’s more, as all in all, Trump named 11 individuals in his little rant who are all on his black list. To be honest, it’s surprising he was able to refine it down to such a small number, seeing as this man has so many high profile enemies it must have been hard to condense it into such a small list.

What is Trump Derangement Syndrome? 721j5f

One of Donald’s favorite phrases to throw about, Trump Derangement Syndrome, or TDS for short, is a “mental condition” that the MAGA maniac made up to discredit his detractors. Essentially, he uses it as a way of implying those who are criticizing him are borderline obsessed with him, their minds are warped from their hatred of Trump, and therefore, they should be ignored on of them being “deranged.”

A few other notable names on the TDS list include former Republican VP Mike Pence, retired senator Mitt Romney, and retired US army general Mark Milley. Anyone with associations to these people will unfortunately not be considered for a government role, apparently.

This is hardly a surprise, though. Donald Trump’s top priority since winning the election last year has been to surround himself with as many yes men as possible – regardless of whether or not they’re actually qualified. Just look at some of the cretins he’s trying to populate his cabinet with, Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense and Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence. These are undeniable poor choices.

Trump’s Truth Social post proves that his priority isn’t finding people qualified for roles in his istration, but rather finding people who are loyal to him. While he tries to present his detractors as the crazy ones, it’s clear that he is the one suffering from some sort of derangement.

Given his years-long run as Donald Trump’s Vice President, it’s easy to equate Mike Pence with the same kind of MAGA loyalism as Marjorie Taylor Greene or Lauren Boebert. 

His tenure as Vice President was marked by a hateful campaign to destroy LGBTQ+ rights, but a recent resurfaced video of the politician has reminded us that on one specific topic he was on the right side of history. 

In a clip doing the rounds on TikTok, Pence is seen offering his thoughts on Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. His refusal to do so made him public enemy number one for both Trump and his ers, leading to his ousting from the Republican inner circle and Trump-led chants for him to be hanged.

“I had no right to overturn the election,” Pence says in the resurfaced clip. “President Trump asked me to put him over the Constitution, but I chose the Constitution.” Pence went on to say that anyone who favors themselves over the Constitution “should not be President of the United States,” and added that Trump’s claims of a rigged election were “completely false.” 

Pence’s comments are from a 2023 interview after Trump was indicted on charges related to trying to overturn the election results. The indictment revealed that Trump relied on Pence to achieve his goal of refusing to certify the results of the election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden. Pence was even called to testify in front of a grand jury as part of that indictment, kickstarting an opposition to his former boss which continues to this day. 

In March, Pence declared that he wouldn’t be endorsing Trump’s presidential bid, and the politician’s shifting sentiment has been noticed online. “Even Mike Pence doesn’t want Trump to be President again,” one commented on the resurfaced clip, “let that sink in.” Others said the former VP’s opposition to Trump is “telling”, describing his comments as a “Rare Mike pence W.” 

“[Pence] is the most qualified person to say Trump is unqualified,” another wrote. Pence’s comments — which mark the first time a VP has said their boss isn’t fit to run for president —  are a welcome reminder of his role in exposing Trump’s track record from the inside, though he’s far from the only Republican to call out the party’s unshakable top dog. 

Alongside Pence, fellow high-profile Republicans Mitt Romney and William Barr are among those who’ve refused to endorse Trump, while the likes of Liz Cheney and Susan Collins were notably absent from this year’s Republican National Convention.  

As the Republican National Convention (RNC) unfolds in Milwaukee, the spotlight isn’t just on who’s there but also on who’s conspicuously absent. That’s because some prominent Republicans refuse to Donald Trump for a second term.

The transformation of the Republican Party under Trump’s influence has been nothing short of seismic. Once the respectable party of Reagan, it now marches to the beat of a very different drum – one that’s caused quite a few of its to cover their ears and run for the hills. As such, the 2024 RNC has become a litmus test for party loyalty, with several high-profile Republicans choosing to skip the event and distance themselves from Trump’s increasingly erratic political circus.

Mitt Romney: The principled republican 60351k

Mitt Romney? The guy who ran against Obama in 2012 and lost but at least did it with a modicum of dignity? Well, he’s back in the spotlight, but this time for giving Trump the cold shoulder. 

As the current U.S. Senator from Utah, Romney has been a thorn in Trump’s side since day one. Romney’s refusal to attend the RNC or Trump stems from his deep-seated concerns about the former president’s character and the threat he poses to democratic institutions. Romney has even hinted at the possibility of voting for Biden in November, a bombastic declaration from the GOP’s former Presidential candidate. At the time, Romey made it clear he wouldn’t vote for Trump under any circumstances. While Romney didn’t pick up Biden’s banners (yet), that speaks volumes about the dissent at the heart of the GOP.

Liz Cheney: The conservative rebel a55q

If one person has been giving Trump more headaches than a toupee in a windstorm, it’s Liz Cheney. The former Wyoming Representative has become Trump’s most vocal Republican critic since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, when the Orange Man ed anti-democratic demonstration from his fanatic followers.

Cheney’s opposition to Trump cost her both her GOP House leadership position and her congressional seat. But like a conservative phoenix rising from the ashes of her political career, she even considered forming a “fully conservative” third party. Yes, you read that right. Trump’s unstable personality has led even a veteran Republican to consider founding a party to compete with the GOP.

Mike Pence: The ex-sidekick turned rival 1b1137

Oh, how the mighty have fallen – or, in this case, how the sycophantic have found their backbone. Mike Pence, Trump’s former Vice President and professional head-nodder, has decided to skip the RNC and withdraw from his former boss. 

Pence’s journey from Trump’s yes-man to vocal critic has caused severe damage to his political career, with followers of the Orange Man even chanting for the ex-VP’s death. Who knew that being nearly sacrificed to an angry mob would be a deal-breaker? The fact remains that even a Republican who walked through the White House’s hall as Trump’s loyal right-hand man has turned his back on the GOP’s questionable decision for the 2024 Presidential race.

Susan Collins: The moderate maverick 6cb73

Maine Senator Susan Collins, known for her moderate stance and ability to furrow her brow in concern, has also decided to sit out this year’s Trump-fest. Collins, who voted in favor of Trump’s unprecedented impeachment trial, is still confident that the Orange Man is not suited to rule the country for a second term. 

As the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins wields more power than you might think. Her refusal to endorse Trump is a good thermometer of how the GOP is burning bridges with their more rational allies.

George W. Bush: The ghost of Republicans past 2te59

Last but not least, we have George W. Bush, the former president who’s been conspicuously absent from the political stage since leaving office. Bush’s decision to skip the RNC is less of a surprise and more of a continuation of his “thanks, but no thanks” approach to post-presidential politics. 

Nevertheless, Bush’s absence is a stark reminder of how much the Republican Party has changed since his presidency. It’s like comparing apples to very loud, very orange oranges. His non-attendance underpins the gulf between the GOP of yesteryear and the Trump-centric party of today, as Republicans trade a cohesive political program for mediatic spectacle.

It’s been more than three years since ers of Donald Trump chanted for the death of Mike Pence, the vice president of the United States at the time, but it feels like yesterday.

Few people were as affected that day as much as Pence. Once the right-hand man of MAGA’s messiah, he became public enemy number one after refusing to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He’s since been ejected — unwillingly, it seems — from the MAGA movement, but that doesn’t mean Pence has backed off of politics for good.

What happened to Mike Pence? 195c1v

Following the Jan. 6 insurrection and Mike Pence’s messy ouster from the Trump camp, the former VP continued to voice his for Trump. He waxed poetic about the man whose ers called for his hanging, and took his affiliation with Trump straight to the bank.

Pence’s experience, paired with his ties to the MAGA movement, earned him a position with the Heritage Foundation, the Young America’s Foundation, a gig doing voiceover work, and even a few book deals. He kept busy with his many pseudo-political pursuits through 2021 and 2022, and spent a large chunk of 2023 initially fighting, and later adhering to, a subpoena related the events of Jan. 6.

He even made a brief bid for the presidency in 2023, but it floundered in the wake of Trump’s unshakeable popularity. He withdrew before 2024 had even kicked off, but in March of 2024 he made a major announcement. Pence informed the nation that he had no plans to endorse Trump — a man who tossed him under the bus the moment he crossed him — but that he also would not vote for Joe Biden.

It leaves Pence in a strange place in the political zeitgeist. He’s a fringe political figure who was once at the center of a hugely popular — and massively damaging — movement, but he’s since slipped into the background, disliked by MAGA for refusing to bow to Trump’s demands, but disliked by the left at large for continuing to pursue exclusionary, controlling, and dangerous endeavors that would strip American citizens of their rights.

Most of the news emerging since the announcement of JD Vance as Donald Trump’s running mate has been pretty dire, from the resurfacing of his particular stances on things like abortion to his old comments about someone he now suddenly ires. 

With such an influx of less-than-positive coverage around Vance, it’s nice to have a dose of more lighthearted fare, which this time comes in the form of a viral meme (because, what else?). Shared on X by earlier this week, the meme in question shows a close-up of Vance, but his hair is noticeably whiter and there’s a fly perched atop his head.

If that description doesn’t quite make sense, I’ll invite you to cast your minds back to 2020 (a pretty painful exercise, but stay with me). It was during the debate between then-Vice President Mike Pence and Kamala Harris that a fly landed gracefully on the former’s head, resting there for a whopping total of two minutes. 

Naturally, since nothing remains serious online, #FlyGate spawned a litany of memes and viral moments and basically became synonymous with Pence himself. Now, we’ve thankfully been reminded of the moment thanks to @TheReal_Jaime’s clever editing tricks, with the fly now finding a new home on the head of Pence’s replacement. 

Getting a glimpse of the former VP might’ve been a trigger for some, but X s took the meme in good humour, replying with laughing memes, suggesting Vance is “more of a tick guy”, and going so far as to edit Trump’s hair on his new underling. 

The whereabouts of the fly remains unknown, but I think a star on the Walk of Fame is in order. 

If there’s one thing for certain about Stephen King, it is that he will stir the political pot in a way that ensures his opinion on important matters is laid bare, which is exactly what happened in regards to JD Vance being named Donald Trump’s VP pick.

In the aftermath of Vance being officially selected as Trump’s political running mate — despite Vance’s past negative comments about the former president — King took to his X to nonchalantly offer up his opinion on the choice. While the acclaimed horror novelist didn’t actually type anything for his millions of followers to read, he definitely got his message across by sharing a photo describing his thoughts on it all.

The aforementioned photo features a still from a memorable scene in Stranger Things season 3 where Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) shows Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) a dry-erase board tallying his efforts of flirting with girls. Rather than the “You Rule, You Suck” phrase with tally marks written on the board, the version that King shared shows Robin holding up the board with a different selection of words written across. You can view the post for yourself down below:

“Just a reminder that the reason he has to pick a new VP is because his own ers tried to kill his last one,” the board reads.

King, of course, is referring to the MAGA ers who turned against Trump’s former VP, Mike Pence after he refused to condone Trump’s attempts to overthrow the government and certified the 2020 election results. As a result, a herd of angry ers stormed the Capitol and incited the Jan. 6 insurrection, chanting “Hang Mike Pence!”

In King’s opinion, Trump’s need to choose a new VP is due to his MAGA followers threatening Pence’s life and his family’s. Pence recently revealed that he would not endorse Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Then again, with the ever-growing outrage MAGA voters are now feeling toward Vance and his personal life, perhaps Pence was truly the one who got away.

Mike Pence? While many know him as the former vice president under Donald Trump, there is much more to his story. He was the number one target at the Jan. 6 attacks and even briefly ran for president himself this election.

As we all know, Pence was Donald Trump’s running buddy in both the 2016 and 2020 campaigns, serving as vice resident between 2017 and 2021. He showcased true devotion to his conservative, patriotic feelings on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump ers stormed the Capitol, but he refused to give in. That day effectively destroyed their relationship, and Pence tried making his own role for the presidency in the election. Not everything went as planned, though.

Did Pence disappear because of the feud he started having with Trump, or did the dirty politics start to get too much for Republicans’ former favorite gray-haired puppet? Well, it’s a mixture of both.

What happened to Mike Pence on the Jan. 6 attack? 6q43u

As vice president, Pence was leading the congressional t session on Jan. 6, 2021, whose job was to count the electoral votes and confirm the new President of the United States. While these events are usually celebratory and formal, as we all know, it was quite a party in 2021.

Trump pressured Pence to overturn the election results. But, while Trump had spoken about how he and Pence were on the same page and agreed to sabotage the session, Pence didn’t want to any part of this wild fantasy.

“What I want the American people to know is that President Trump was wrong then and he’s wrong now that I had no right to overturn the election. I had no right to reject or return votes, and that, by God’s grace, I did my duty under the Constitution of the United States,” Pence told CNN in August 2021.

During the attack on the Capitol, Pence wasn’t harmed, though reportedly coming close to meet the rioters while they stormed the building. A Reuters photographer Jim Bourg, who was in the Capitol at that time covering the events, claimed on X he had heard multiple rioters “say that they hoped to find Vice President Mike Pence and execute him by hanging him from a Capitol Hill tree as a traitor.”

Afterwards, Pence confirmed the Biden and Harris istration as winners of the 2020 presidential election.

What happened to Mike Pence after the Jan. 6 attacks? 13v6o

Pence, contrary to Trump, swallowed the bitter pill of defeat and attended Biden and Harris’ inauguration as president and Vice President of the United States. After that, he distanced himself from Trump, though in some cases he spoke about the former president with respect.

In January 2023, after classified documents were found at the home of current President Joe Biden, Pence asked his attorney to search his home out of caution. After discovering a few, they handed them to the FBI. After the investigation and full cooperation from Pence, the Department of Justice decided no charges would be filed against the former vice president.

What happened to Mike Pence’s presidential campaign? u2kv

Some early polls in 2021 showed that if Trump didn’t run for the president again, Pence’s chances were high to become the Republican’s candidate. In May 2022, the first reports about Pence’s possible campaign appeared, with the former VP confirming his start in the race on June 5, 2023.

Pence launched his bid in Iowa instead of his home state of Indiana, despite being the latter’s governor before becoming the vice president in 2017. While he praised the former government he had co-created with Trump, they both differed in specific areas, including abortion or ing Ukraine in its war against Russia. “I have no doubt in my mind if the West were to falter and Vladimir Putin were to overrun Ukraine, it would just be a matter of time before he crossed a border that under article five. We as NATO allies would have to go and fight him,” Pence told Euronews this April.

Despite high hopes, Pence withdrew from the race in October 2023. His numbers just weren’t high enough. Judging by September 2023 polls, Trump had 52 percent among the Republican Party, with Pence being in the backseat with merely seven percent, according to CNN.

“I’m leaving this campaign, but let me promise you, I will never leave the fight for conservative values and I will never stop fighting to elect principled Republican leaders to every office in the land. So help me God,” Pence said at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference in Las Vegas in October, via CNN.

Its never a surprise when those most closely associated with former President Donald Trump display their lack of intelligence, but Kristi Noem is going for the gold with her latest misstep.

The self-itted dog killer and South Dakota Republican has been at the center of conversations of late, following the release of her book, No Going Back, and her reported removal from Trump’s shortlist of running mates. Her removal followed the circulations of excerpts from Noem’s book, one of which discusses — in a disturbingly gleeful manner — Noem’s decision to kill her 14-month-old puppy for not performing its duties to satisfaction.

All this from the pro-life party. Some wild mental gymnastics have resulted in continued of Noem from fringe Republicans, but she’s seeing her popularity plummet in the wake of the book’s release. In an effort to maintain the same relevance she boasted ahead of that very public faux pas, Noem’s been participating in interviews in aims of dispelling reports of her unhinged nature.

Unsurprisingly, she’s failing. Noem’s recent spate of interviews are doing little to improve her image, and in fact are — more often than not — only tarnishing it further. Take her recent interview with Elizabeth Vargas, in which Noem seemingly misunderstood the definition of “hypothetical” in her efforts to dodge a question.

Vargas posed a simple question to Noem, asking only after her opinion on whether or not Mike Pence did “the right thing or the wrong thing on Jan 6.” In response, Noem blasted the question as “hypothetical,” which it is not, and stressed that “that situation will never happen again.”