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Americans on both sides of the aisle were stunned this weekend when President Donald Trump announced that a top secret meeting between his administration and leaders of the Taliban had been cancelled after the violent fundamentalist group took credit for a bombing in Kabul that left 12 people, including an American soldier, dead.
It wasn't the meeting's cancellation that was a surprise, but that a meeting with the Taliban and the President at Camp David on the 18th anniversary week of the September 11 attacks was ever on the table in the first place.
Soon, reports broke that the Vice President Mike Pence—along with National Security Advisor John Bolton—objected to the idea. It wasn't long before Trump took to Twitter to rail against the so-called false claim from the "Fake News."
A lot of Fake News is being reported that I overruled the VP and various advisers on a potential Camp David meeting… https://t.co/tx6PhAiS36— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1568051384.0
...the look of turmoil in the White House, of which there is none. I view much of the media as simply an arm of the… https://t.co/tuL8I308LX— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1568051385.0
...the Economy, where there is NO Recession, much to the regret of the LameStream Media! They are working overtime… https://t.co/cwc1Eb4Xs3— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1568051387.0
Forty minutes later, Vice President Pence retweeted Trump, echoing his sentiments, but something was off.
See if you can spot it.
That’s Absolutely Right Mr. President. More Fake News! The Dishonest Media never contacted our office before runnin… https://t.co/nKw9mmA8fo— Vice President Mike Pence (@Vice President Mike Pence) 1568053849.0
The willy-nilly capitalization of certain words, the random omission of commas, the all-caps "FULLY" for emphasis...none of it sounds like Pence.
For reference, here are some of his other recent tweets.
90 days ago, Mexico agreed to step up their efforts to stop illegal immigration into the US. Looking forward to mee… https://t.co/HDKYQtM9e0— Vice President Mike Pence (@Vice President Mike Pence) 1568035991.0
The United States stands without apology for a strong, prosperous, and free United Kingdom and we fully support the… https://t.co/3FXBzOoHWD— Vice President Mike Pence (@Vice President Mike Pence) 1567859591.0
The #USMCA is a trade deal America’s farmers, ranchers and manufacturers deserve! As Congress returns to session, I… https://t.co/pCAVwp5gEL— Vice President Mike Pence (@Vice President Mike Pence) 1568048393.0
The style of writing in Pence's tweet defending Trump may not sound like the Vice President many know and loathe, but it did remind people of someone else who randomly capitalizes and emphasizes.
did donald trump write this mike pence tweet? https://t.co/P80kE1wfOj— Bobby Lewis (@Bobby Lewis) 1568054187.0
Why do I get the distinct Feeling that Trump rather than Pence Wrote this Incorrectly Capitalized Tweet? https://t.co/wKWoadV52L— Conspirador Norteño (@Conspirador Norteño) 1568059747.0
Pence didn’t write this tweet. He gave his phone to Trump. https://t.co/Rz03SMOk4m— Malcolm Nance (@Malcolm Nance) 1568056453.0
@VP Trump wrote this tweet. (...or at least had someone from the VP's office send it on Pence's behalf)… https://t.co/jPwI2gNWSd— Raul A. Maestri, Jr. (@Raul A. Maestri, Jr.) 1568056151.0
@VP This sounds a lot like Trump more than it does Pence.— David Weissman (@David Weissman) 1568054933.0
Could there be another explanation for Pence's Trump-like tweet? Could he just be assimilating to Trumpian standards?
@VP Proud of you for adopting the leader's capitalization method like a big strong boy.— Cody Johnston (@Cody Johnston) 1568055291.0
@VP lmao now even Pence is doing arbitrary capitalizations in the middle of sentences. Trump's stupidity is literally contagious.— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1568054678.0
@VP Pence's biggest contribution to the Trump administration is his ability to regularly and utterly debase himself like this.— Katie (@Katie) 1568054671.0
Either way, the moral of the story is...
@VP So you, without reservation, supported a plan that would bring the Taliban leaders to Camp David in the USA rig… https://t.co/NmBlS1hqHn— harperThomas (@harperThomas) 1568054282.0
@VP @VP confirming that he was OK with bringing the Taliban to Camp David on the anniversary of 9/11. I wonder how… https://t.co/q9z7RDFen5— Acme Codeworks, LLC (@Acme Codeworks, LLC) 1568054308.0
Curiouser and curiouser.
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