CLEVELAND, United States (AFP) — Indiana Governor Mike Pence accepted the Republican vice presidential nomination at a tumultuous party convention in Cleveland Wednesday, describing his running mate Donald Trump as a “good man.”
“I am deeply humbled by your confidence,” Pence told delegates, still reeling from a night of high drama and political infighting over Trump’s anointment as the party’s White House candidate.
Pence, 57, said he “joined this campaign in a heartbeat” because Republicans chose Trump, a man “who never quits, who never backs down.”
The conservative evangelical Christian and former congressman could serve to steady Trump’s heaving and swaying campaign ship and reassure voters alarmed by Trump’s rhetoric.
He was joined on stage by the New York billionaire after his speech, when the two men hugged awkwardly as Trump leaned in to plant a kiss on his running mate but appeared to miss.
“I feel much better now,” said Matt Owen, 25, a delegate and firefighter from Pence’s home state of Indiana.
“Putting the two of them together is going to be a great thing for the ticket,” he said. “It changes the game, I think for Donald Trump.”
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