5 ways Pence has used Twitter — and it has used him
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence doesn't come close to matching President Trump's reliance on Twitter, but he's still made use of the social media tool. Here's five ways he's used Twitter — or it has used him in the first 100 days.
Pence’s defense of his wife struck a chord
Two of the three Pence tweets retweeted the most were his criticism of the Associated Press for publishing his wife’s private AOL address. The Pences' emails were released after IndyStar discovered that the vice president had used a personal AOL account to conduct state business during his time as governor. Pence tweeted that the AP's decision to publish the second lady's private email address violated "her privacy and our security."
A second tweet demanded an apology from the AP. The news service said it originally thought Karen Pence’s email address was no longer active. "We regret if the publication of Mrs. Pence's email address caused any problems,” John Daniszewski, AP’s vice president and editor-at-large for standards, wrote the vice president.
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Pence will pose for selfies
During his frequent trips to Capitol Hill, Pence likes to pass through the Capitol Rotunda and mingle with tourists. That’s a practice he started while Indiana’s governor, said John Hammond, a friend and Republican National Committee member from Indiana.
“He wants that personal interaction. He wants people to know that you do have access to your leaders,” Hammond said. “People are completely surprised.”
Pence sometimes sent a different message than intended
Pence has faced a backlash for some of his tweets, including for praising Abraham Lincoln in a tweet about Black History Month. Critics took him to task for singling out a white guy.
And when Pence tweeted out a photo of his meeting with members of the Freedom Caucus about health care legislation, critics noted there wasn’t a single woman in the room.
His twitter trollers have included J.K. Rowling
After President Trump temporarily barred residents from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, best-selling author J.K. Rowling joined many people in retweeting a 2015 tweet from Pence saying “calls to ban Muslims from the United States are offensive and unconstitutional.” And then she added a Bible verse.
'For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?' Matthew 16:26.
Pence has starred in others' tweets
After Trump left an executive order signing ceremony without actually signing the orders, a Buzzfeed editor put out a plea on Twitter for someone to mash up the footage — including Pence going after Trump and then returning to gather up the papers — in the style of HBO’s show "VEEP."
A Buzzfeed colleague quickly responded and the resulting video was retweeted or liked tens of thousands of times.
Getting even more tweets was The Onion’s take on Pence’s rule that he won’t dine alone with a woman other than his wife.
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