“I’m not a big fan of Pence, but I’d say there’s almost no chance Trump would have won in 2016 without him on the ballot”
How ridiculous. Are you saying there was no other qualified and admired human being out there that Trump could have chosen for a running mate other than Pence? That’s ludicrous.
He could have picked Ben Carson. But I don't see how they would have won without one political figure on the ticket. A ticket of TWO political outsiders has a lot of risk in a political process.
Pence also had an advantage in that he wasn't a presidential contender in 2016 -- so he had been very much detached from the chaotic GOP primary process.