Mike Pence Can't Even Stage A Photo Op Right

It's not surprising that Mike Pence would be bad at leading discussions about how race plays a role in our society, what with him looking the human embodiment of milk and having once said, "We ought to set aside this talk, this talk about institutional racism and institutional bias." But, say what you will, the guy is at least willing to step outside of his bunker zone -- sorry, I meant comfort zone -- and give it his best photo-op -- sorry, I meant shot. Except even Pence's best efforts to appeal to protesters angry at the murder of George Floyd were doomed from the get-go, and if you look at this photo, you might see why.

Candace Owens is sitting two seats to Pence's left, and while Pence might not have tagged her, that didn't stop Twitter from immediately going, "Hey, isn't that the woman who very publically bashed George Floyd?"

The outcry is referring to (amongst other things) a video Owen's made in which she derides the media and the Black Lives Matter movement for upholding George Floyd as a martyr. "George Floyd was not an amazing person," Owens says. "The family of George Floyd deserves justice for the way that he died. But I also am not going to accept the narrative that this is the best the black community has to offer."

We'd call this a straw man argument, but not even straw is this transparent. The issue at hand isn't whether or not George Floyd was a good person. The issue is that George Floyd was a person that was murdered by the police. It doesn't matter who he is, the police aren't supposed to decide who lives and who dies. Has she somehow missed the 10,000 daily airings of Law & Order? "In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders." We'll even embed it for you, Candace:

Derek Chauvin left out the "law" part.

It's unclear what Pence was trying to accomplish by inviting Owens, but in light of her statements, it feels especially gross. Pence is the one who framed his discussion as "How we can move our Nation forward in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd." Next time try doing it with someone that didn't shit all over him.

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Top Image: Gage Skidmore, Gage Skidmore