Mike Pence, Trump’s Running Mate, Is a Big Ol’ Tom Brady Hater
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was expected announce Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate Friday. In response to the deadly Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, Trump tweeted that he would postpone his announcement.
Except, he didn’t! Trump confirmed, right around the time he was originally scheduled to unveil the pick, that Pence—a man who isn’t exactly on the same page as the real estate mogul—is his choice for vice president. As a result, he might have some explaining to do with his favorite quarterback.
A native of Columbus, Indiana, Pence is a unabashed Indianapolis Colts fan. As such, he’s delighted in the never-ending Deflategate saga, which, barring a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court, could result in Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sitting out for the first four games of the upcoming season.
You can always tell when the Patriots are in town…#ColtsNation #NEvsIND pic.twitter.com/86ezgqclFC
— Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) October 16, 2015
Last year, Pence made a friendly wager with Gov. Charlie Baker, an avowed #NeverTrumper, over the AFC championship game between the Patriots and the Colts. To the victor went the spoils—after Brady trounced Andrew Luck and company 45-7, Baker’s office received shredded pork from Shoup’s Country Foods of Frankfort, Indiana.
This year, as Brady faced former Colts QB Peyton Manning for the last time in the playoffs, Pence picked right back up where he left off.
Feels like old times rooting for Peyton against the Patriots…Lets go Broncos! #DENvsNE
— Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) January 24, 2016
Few things better than Peyton sending the Patriots home & earning a trip to the SB, well deserved!
— Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) January 25, 2016
Trump, on the other hand, has long bragged about his friendship with the star of the team he once briefly tried to purchase in the 80s. After one of the candidate’s “Make America Great Again” hats was spotted in his locker, Brady said “it’d be great” if Trump were elected president. While his future running mate was tweeting pictures of deflated footballs, Trump mused that Brady could’ve beaten the Colts “if he was throwing a soccer ball.”
On the other side of the aisle, the New York law firm responsible for the NFL-commissioned, much-maligned Wells Report at the center of the Deflategate hysteria threw a fundraiser for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton last November. (The Clintons themselves seem to be college football people anyway.)
