Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence joined Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” attempting to perform more damage control for his running mate, Donald Trump.

Wallace grilled Pence on Trump’s latest controversial comments: that President Obama and Hillary Clinton are the most valuable players for ISIS.  Pence and Trump had both previously defended his remarks, but after taking more heat, Trump claimed he was just being sarcastic.

So once again, Pence was left out in the cold to clean up the mess, and Chris Wallace didn’t pull any punches about it, even asking him at one point, “Are you the cleanup crew?”

TRANSCRIPT

CHRIS WALLACE: “…He said that Obama and Clinton were the most valuable players of ISIS, that they were the co-founders of ISIS, then he said ‘well I was just being sarcastic about that’ just as he said he was just being sarcastic about inviting Russia to come in and release emails of Hillary Clinton’s.  Isn’t the sarcastic excuse getting a bit old?”

MIKE PENCE: “Well no I don’t think it’s getting old at all Chris.  Donald Trump made his way through a very competitive primary because he spoke not like your typical politician but just plainly like an everyday American. And speaking plainly is exactly what the American people will anticipate in the course of this election, but more importantly they’re gonna have a president who tells them exactly what’s on his mind and they’re gonna hear him, and they’re gonna hear him loud and clear.”

WALLACE: “Are you the cleanup crew?”

PENCE: “I couldn’t be more honored to be campaigning shoulder to shoulder with a man who I believe is going to be the next president of the United States.”

WALLACE: “You do have to clean up, you do have to explain some of the things he says.”

PENCE: “Well look, we have different styles but as I told that little boy, we have exactly the same convictions.”

What Pence doesn’t seem to understand, or maybe does understand but is too prideful to admit, is that Trump “speaking plainly” isn’t the issue. First of all, I’d like my president to have a vocabulary higher than a second grade level, and I’m fairly certain most Americans would agree.  And I don’t suppose someone is really speaking all that “plainly” if they have to come out and continuously clarify their own comments.

Further, Pence may think he and Trump have similar convictions today, but how many times can Trump change his position before Pence realizes that Trump has no true convictions other than doing and saying what is best for Trump?  It’s hard not to feel bad for the guy watching him sit there and have his reputation and credibility diminished by his neanderthal running mate, but then again, he did choose this path for himself.