Most people who follow American politics are well aware of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). The term pretty much covers all of the left that hates President Donald Trump so much that it will side with terrorists, murderers, and communists just because Trump opposes them. But there’s an equally common dynamic at play that becomes more obvious the deeper the Trump administration gets into its second term. Let’s call it the “Pence effect,” named after Trump’s former disloyal vice president Mike Pence, who famously turned on Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.
Ever since, based on the fact that he burned his bridges to Trump and the conservative movement in the process, Pence has essentially betrayed whatever sincere conservative standing he may have once had. He’s now swung far enough to the “moderate” wing of the Republican party to qualify as a Republican in Name Only (RINO).
What makes the Pence effect a thing is that it centers on someone who was once a Trump ally, perhaps a member of his inner circle. This is not garden-variety never-Trumpism. Over the years, a number of people in Trump’s universe have been experiencing the Pence effect for themselves as he weeds out the posers, the incompetents, the impostors, and the saboteurs in his circles.
Joe Kent may be the most recent example of someone dealing with the Pence effect. Kent was the administration’s National Counterterrorism Center director until he tendered his public resignation this past week. CBS News reported that the FBI is investigating Kent, “in connection with alleged leaks of classified information,” saying that “multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter” informed the network.
Our Catherine Salgado reported on Kent’s departure, saying that in his resignation letter, Kent resigned on March 17 “over Operation Epic Fury, asserting that Israel wrongly convinced America to strike Iran’s regime, the same regime that has been killing Americans for half a century.”
Catherine provided details, saying “a clue as to why Kent made this decision — so contradictory to many of his previous stated views — could come from his second wife’s past connection with a virulently anti-Israel, pro-terror website.”
pence never was a Trump ally. He colluded with dick cheney before the first Trump presidency.