VP Mike Pence left room for applause. Be that as it may, nobody applauded. At a security conference in Munich on Saturday, Pence referenced President Donald Trump, taking note of he was there “on behalf of a champion of freedom and of a strong national defense.” The VP went on: “I bring greetings from the 45th President of the United States of America, President Donald Trump.” Pence then stopped for applause yet nobody in the room applauded. After what appear to be an extremely long five seconds, Pence proceeds with his discourse.
In a duplicate of Pence’s readied comments that were distributed on the White House’s website, there is incidental note of “applause” after those words. The readied comments additionally notice “applause” after Pence presents Sen. Lindsey Graham, which he received. The VP was additionally expected to present House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (and hang tight for her applause) however he wound up skirting that presentation.
The quietness when Trump’s name was articulated was halfway a reflection of how the conference in Munich put on display just how divided Europe is from Washington under Trump. “No one any longer believes that Trump cares about the views or interests of the allies,” a senior German official told the New York Times. “It’s broken.”