Mike Pence’s radio show helped his political career take off
Valerio Pucci/Shutterstock
“The Mike Pence Show,” which aired on Network Indiana, may have followed in the footsteps of other popular radio shows at that time, but Mike Pence made no attempt to be similar to other shock jocks. Rather, Poltico reported, he used his show as a “springboard” for his future political career, and as a means to really connect with he public. Steve Simpson, former colleague and news anchor at Indianapolis-based WIBC, recalled of Pence, “His political aspirations were never far behind that microphone,” (via Politico).
According to Investopedia, Pence described himself as a radio host as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.” Even though the end goal was always about politics, WRTV Indianapolis suggested that Pence sounded more like a radio host than a politician. Scott Uecker, former director of news, operations, and programming for Network Indiana, recalled of Pence that, “People really took to him, because he was one of them … I don’t think what anyone at the time realized that what he was doing was building name recognition for his future political aspirations,” (via The Republic).
What Mike Pence Did Before He Was Famous
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By Maria Faller/Aug. 27, 2021 12:44 pm EST
Surprisingly, Pence was raised as a Democrat, and he even voted for former president Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election (via Investopedia). It wasn’t until later, when he attended Hanover College, that his religious and political beliefs changed, and he declared himself a Republican and Evangelist (Via The New York Times). Before his stint as vice president, you may recall that Pence was a conservative leaning congressman and governor, but what you may not know is that he once had his own radio show. According to Biography, in 1994 after two failed attempts at running for congress, “The Mike Pence Show” began.
Mike Pence’s radio show helped his political career take off
Valerio Pucci/Shutterstock
“The Mike Pence Show,” which aired on Network Indiana, may have followed in the footsteps of other popular radio shows at that time, but Mike Pence made no attempt to be similar to other shock jocks. Rather, Poltico reported, he used his show as a “springboard” for his future political career, and as a means to really connect with he public. Steve Simpson, former colleague and news anchor at Indianapolis-based WIBC, recalled of Pence, “His political aspirations were never far behind that microphone,” (via Politico).
According to Investopedia, Pence described himself as a radio host as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.” Even though the end goal was always about politics, WRTV Indianapolis suggested that Pence sounded more like a radio host than a politician. Scott Uecker, former director of news, operations, and programming for Network Indiana, recalled of Pence that, “People really took to him, because he was one of them … I don’t think what anyone at the time realized that what he was doing was building name recognition for his future political aspirations,” (via The Republic).
According to Investopedia, Pence described himself as a radio host as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.” Even though the end goal was always about politics, WRTV Indianapolis suggested that Pence sounded more like a radio host than a politician. Scott Uecker, former director of news, operations, and programming for Network Indiana, recalled of Pence that, “People really took to him, because he was one of them … I don’t think what anyone at the time realized that what he was doing was building name recognition for his future political aspirations,” (via The Republic).
