Poor Mike Pence. Pence has drawn the unenviable job of being the straight man in Donald Trump’s con, which involves mostly saying a lot of embarrassing things and trying to save face for the Republican party as a whole.

Anyway, this 11-year-old kid finally got a chance to ask Pence the question that’s been on most Republicans’ mind ever since Pence accepted the VP nod. Take a look:

Governor Pence, my name is Matthew and I’m 11 years old, and I’ve been watching the news lately and I’ve been noticing that you’ve been kind of softening up on Mr. Trump’s policies and words. Is this going to be your role in the administration? 

That’s an insightful kid.

Initially, Pence had to take a moment to get his feet back under him, throwing out a couple questions to buy some time and even asking the boy to repeat himself, “What did you say that I’ve been doing?”

CNN described it as a “four second pause,” which is an eternity for someone who is standing up in front of a crowd like that. Eventually, though, Pence handled this about as well as possible, saying “this kid has a future” and telling the boy he was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Donald Trump.

Welcome to your new life, Mike.