An explosive showdown between the president and Democratic leaders rocked the Oval Office on Tuesday as Donald Trump threatened to shut down the government if his version of border security was not included in a bill to fund the government. House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried their best to convince the president they had a bill addressing his concerns that would get bipartisan support.
Amid a contentious debate over what constituted border security — Trump wants his wall, Pelosi and Schumer said it’s not necessary — Vice President Mike Pence sat there in agonizingly noticeable silence. His apparent “Weekend at Bernie’s” act stood in stark contrast to an animated, and adamant, Trump.
At one point the president was boasting of Republicans winning the Senate, prompting Schumer to clap back and take a swipe at Pence’s home state.
“When the president brags he won North Dakota and Indiana, he’s in real trouble,” Schumer snorted and chuckled in apparent smug self-satisfaction.
But not even that could provoke Pence, whose facial expression stayed the same as Pelosi and Schumer double-teamed the president into what may be the prevailing sound-byte from the meeting.
“I am proud to shut down the government for border security,” Trump told Schumer in a moment that will likely be capitalized on by Democrats looking to further paint the president in an ignorant light. “So I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down.”
Even with that wild proclamation that seemed to have Trump willing to cut his nose off just to spite his face, there was not a shred of evidence that Pence felt one way or another about it. The tried and true Trump loyalist was apparently more comfortable being a glorified piece of Oval Office furniture than he was chiming in on a topic that the vice president has been more than vocal on (racist?) in recent months.
The combination of Democrats on the attack in the White House and a muted response, to put it mildly, from the vice president got many users on social media to wondering if Pence was even a human being.
Hyperbole aside, the silence from Pence — who The Washington Post said didn’t seem “to want anything to do with the spectacle” — prompted Twitter to collectively check his pulse in what was increasingly becoming yet another moment to mock in Trump’s presidency. See below for Twitter’s most imaginative — and funny — reactions to the vice president not saying anything at all during the debate over border security and funding the government.
Twitter Check’s Mike Pence’s Pulse As Trump Threatens To Shut Down The Government was originally published on newsone.com
1.
When you’re praying as hard as you can but you’re still pretty sure you can’t bring about the rapture. pic.twitter.com/cE4HzP3emG
— Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) December 11, 2018
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This photo was really from the Trump-Pelosi-Schumer fight today. Can someone please check to see if Mike Pence is actually still alive or is this a "Weekend at Bernies" type scenario where they just prop up Pence at meetings. pic.twitter.com/EX1qJvP5ft
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) December 11, 2018
4.
What Pence was daydreaming about.
— Ramp Capital 💎 (@RampCapitalLLC) December 11, 2018
(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ <Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas day> ♥ pic.twitter.com/wiBtLKjzF5
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My reaction every morning when I check the news and the #Mueller report isn't out yet. #Pence pic.twitter.com/AxnEj5scmi
— Hui Cheng (@hcheng13) December 11, 2018
7.
Pence during that pic.twitter.com/VnPRGg2D2h
— MaliceToaster (@MaliceToaster) December 11, 2018
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Mike Pence staying perfectly still and quiet, trying to wish himself into a reality where trump is gone, and we all don't already know he's as guilty AF.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) December 11, 2018
Too late, cottonhead.
We already know.
You knew.
You're done. pic.twitter.com/EMsKN2jGM9
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Prior to this meeting, Madame Tussaud’s rolled in this Mike Pence wax figure. pic.twitter.com/frH4FEG49U
— Steven Beschloss (@StevenBeschloss) December 11, 2018
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Pence is thinking pic.twitter.com/aXzsy6IRyH
— WHY QUESTION (@Smith8241Smith) December 11, 2018
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The Executive branch position on border security was well expressed by .@VP in the Oval debate today. pic.twitter.com/d7RFda36Jh
— Unstable Genus (@purtheil) December 11, 2018
12.
Why does Pence look like he’s listening to Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite? pic.twitter.com/sTprB3UsGW
— Sanford Johnson (@SanfordLJohnson) December 11, 2018
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— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) December 11, 2018
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Pence's contribution to today's Oval Office meeting... https://t.co/b02Yf26SyQ pic.twitter.com/t9dfPt1TpS
— DemUnderground (@demunderground) December 11, 2018
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This photo was really from the Trump-Pelosi-Schumer fight today. Can someone please check to see if Mike Pence is actually still alive or is this a "Weekend at Bernies" type scenario where they just prop up Pence at meetings. pic.twitter.com/EX1qJvP5ft
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) December 11, 2018
16.
@docrocktex26 @pannlewis44 @LesaPamplin Mike Pence contributing at today's meeting. pic.twitter.com/eCQ7XbFrVC
— Rick (@rick00979) December 11, 2018
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It helps #TrumpShutdown @VP pic.twitter.com/fApmqaLGva
— Derek Collins (@dcollinshk) December 11, 2018
18.
How Mike Pence could fall asleep during the heated meeting with Trump, Pelosi and Schumer is beyond me. 😴 No stamina!! pic.twitter.com/ZqrHc4kNWo
— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) December 11, 2018
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Twitter explodes as Pence doesn't move during Trump-Pelosi debate, https://t.co/2QNSSheDlu pic.twitter.com/P8i9uspcuG
— SFGATE (@SFGate) December 11, 2018
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Today, we are all Mike Pence. pic.twitter.com/xvN4niXICG
— Anthony Zurcher (@awzurcher) December 11, 2018
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— David Wright (@DavidWright_7) December 11, 2018
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Pence pic.twitter.com/rwGnZVQ0aG
— Can’tGetTheahFromHeah (@MainelyGill) December 11, 2018
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My favorite part of the #TrumpShutdown meeting (other than the president apparently having a stroke) is Mike Pence sitting there like a Jedi Council hologram who's being held up from filling out some really important paperwork. pic.twitter.com/vmWKEXqyK2
— Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd) December 11, 2018
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Mike Pence during the white house meeting pic.twitter.com/RafvrILtaN
— Torry (@torry11) December 11, 2018
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— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) December 11, 2018
29.
Watch Pence.
— Gary Miereanu (@SuperPRGuy) December 11, 2018
You can actually see him silently wishing he was anywhere but there. pic.twitter.com/dJp1w3cAk6
30.
Was Mike Pence dreaming about getting Donald's job -- or just Jerry Falwell, Jr.'s pool boy again? pic.twitter.com/A95y3j266Q
— Mairuzu Strubachincoscow (@MairuzuS) December 11, 2018