"Pence sprinted toward Trump and laid a massive bear hug on him. And he's never let go."

The second it was clear Trump was actually going to be president, Pence grasped the fact that he was now wedded to Trump forever. And, rather than run from that characterization or try to create some healthy distance between himself and the wildly unpredictable President, Pence sprinted toward Trump and laid a massive bear hug on him. And he's never let go.

At every bill signing ceremony, Pence is there -- perched just off Trump's shoulder, smiling and nodding reassuringly. When Trump causes controversy with some impolitic comment, Pence is there to calm the jangled nerves of Republican congressional leaders and give media interviews about what Trump really meant. When Trump holds a Cabinet meeting, Pence is there to lavish praise on the boss man. ("I'm deeply humbled as your vice president to be able to be here," Pence told Trump at an end-of-the-year cabinet meeting in 2017. "Because of your leadership and because of the strong support of the leadership of the Congress, you're delivering on that middle class miracle."

And, when Trump wants an attack dog, Pence is ready and willing -- sticking the knife in, albeit in the nicest possible way. ("I think it's time to wrap it up," Pence told NBC's Andrea Mitchell Thursday of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. "And I would very respectfully encourage the special counsel and his team to bring their work to completion."

Pence is all-out committed to ensuring there is never any space -- perceived or real -- between he and Trump. Trump is his meal-ticket to what he really wants -- which is the job Trump currently has. Whether Trump wins or loses re-election in 2020, Pence's only path to the Republican nomination is being seen by the Trump base as the natural heir to the President's political legacy.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/10/politics/george-will-mike-pence/index.html