The carnage from the attack on Israel has gotten worse. At last count, over 1,100 people have been killed in the nascent Israeli-Hamas war, with more than 700 people killed in Israel. The terrorists killed more than 250 in a savage attack on a music festival and kidnapped many people as well. 

Israel hit back, hitting over 800 targets in Gaza. More than 400 were killed there.

You would think that would be an easy thing for Republicans to speak as one voice, to together denounce such an attack, first by condemning the Hamas terrorists and then by speaking to how Joe Biden's actions and policies have helped to get us to this point. 

But Mike Pence delivered a pretty horrible take as he attacked his Republican primary opponents. He said something similar in Iowa the day before, but he took it even further on Sunday on CNN. He was right in saying Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan has emboldened bad actors. He was right in saying that Biden has "kowtowed to the mullahs in Iran" and chastised him for paying "$6 billion in ransom." But then his take went off the tracks. 

This is what happens when we have leading voices like Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ron DeSantis signaling retreat from America’s role as leader of the free world. When I’m President of the United States, we’ll lead from American Strength. pic.twitter.com/gW3HaN4fIp

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) October 8, 2023

"But I also believe this is what happens when we have leading voices like Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ron DeSantis signaling retreat from America’s role as leader of the free world," Pence said. "When I’m President of the United States, we’ll lead from American Strength." 

I don't know what he was thinking. It would be hard to deliver a more horrible take if you tried. How are any of those people responsible for this atrocity? None of them are in any authority now to impact the situation. Plus, they've all condemned it strongly, and none has been appeasing Iran. Pence may be trying to move up some in the race, but not only isn't this the way, if anything, this rhetoric hurts him more than it hurts any of his opponents. If he's talking about Ukraine and not wanting to pour out American money endlessly without accounting, and that shows strength because it's putting America first, which is what an American president should be focused on, then that would be one thing. 

But when he makes a statement like this, it even undercuts the Abraham Accords that former President Donald Trump achieved and that Pence was part of as Vice President. One has to imagine it's Trump he's truly trying to hit here, but Trump has always stood strong against Iran and terrorists. He stood strong with Israel. There's a reason that Hamas didn't do something like this under the former president, and it's because they knew they would suffer big consequences if they did. 

Plus, this is giving the Democrats a false argument that they will now turn into an ad, courtesy of Pence. Incredibly bad move. 

Pence even posted this video from his own account, which means he didn't have a clue what a bad take it was, showing how far off the mark he is. He got a big ratio from people on X, with posters blasting him and calling it a shameful take. I think he just further sunk any slim chance he had in the GOP race.