Amid the fallout from the explosive meeting between President Donald Trump, Vice President Michael Pence, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, there has been plenty of room for comics to riff on the chaotic discussion.
The lawmakers were meeting in the Oval Office to discuss a way to avoid a looming partial federal government shutdown over border security funding—specifically Trump's demands for $5 billion for his long-promised but not yet delivered "great wall."
But while Trump, Pelosi and Schumer all came out fighting their respective corners, Pence sat quietly alongside them, barely moving and apparently doing all he could to avoid adding his thoughts to the debate.
On CBS's The Late Show Tuesday evening, host Stephen Colbert presented a video of what his team thought the stoic vice president may have been thinking as the barbs and threats flew all around him.
"I wonder if I sit real still if people will even notice I'm here," the monologue began. "I'm a manila envelope taped to a beige wall—no one can see me."
Pence's imagined inner voice then drifts off to consider other important matters, touching on the vice president's homophobic agenda and traditionalist stance. "I don't think all gay people are bad," the voice mused, "I just think all bad people are gay."
"What should I have for dinner tonight?" the monologue continues. "Maybe rice? Nah, too Asian. Boiled potatoes it is."
There has been speculation this week that Trump may resign the presidency in the hope that Pence, as successor president, would issue him a wide-ranging pardon of any alleged crimes currently under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller and prosecutors from the Southern District of New York.
In The Late Show video, Pence's imagined internal voice mused on the idea of serving as the next president. "Hmm. President Pence. The Pence administration," the monologue continued. "The Michael Pence presidential library and casino."
Political commentators have long suggested than Pence's apparent loyalty and relatively low media profile have helped him survive an administration wracked by infighting, leaks and scandals. It appeared he was using this method Tuesday to avoid becoming embroiled in the televised spat between Trump and the Democratic leaders.
Nonetheless, there have recently been rumblings from inside the White House that the president is not overly enamoured with Pence. As Trump's team look to the 2020 election, The New York Times suggested the president has reportedly been asking whether Pence is sufficiently loyal, while Trump's advisors have been casting their eyes around for a vice president that could better broaden his electoral appeal.
But The Late Show version of Pence seemed nonplussed. Referring to a superimposed sombrero that suddenly appeared on his head, the vice president declared, "Nobody even noticed."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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David Brennan is Newsweek's Diplomatic Correspondent covering world politics and conflicts from London with a focus on NATO, the European ... Read more
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