AP Photo/Michael ConroyDonald Trump has made his newest hire.
If all goes according to his plan, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will be meeting with his newly announced running mate not in Trump Tower, but on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The 70-year-old politician revealed Wednesday that he would be announcing his pick for vice president two days later, although he subsequently took to Twitter to postpone the announcement in light of the deadly truck attack in France. However, by early afternoon Friday, he made the grand reveal: Governor Mike Pence will be joining his ticket.
Unlike the former Apprentice star, Indiana's top politician has not made a name for himself in Hollywood as notable as the one he has maintained on the Hill.
With 15 years and counting in government experience, Pence certainly has Trump beat when it comes to sheer political skill. However, has he always been such a fan of the Donald? Here's a few things you should know about your possible new vice president.
1. Donald Trump was not his first choice.
Before he was named Trump's right-hand man, Pence threw his support behind another presidential hopeful—Senator Ted Cruz. During the Republican presidential primaries, the Indiana governor publicly endorsed the candidate. "I'm not against anybody," the governor told WBIC in late April, "but I will be voting for Ted Cruz in the upcoming Republican primary."
2. He's a family man.
Like Trump, Pence has kept his family close throughout his time as a public figure. However, he's only been married once—to former teacher Karen Pence since 1985. They share three children.
3. He's made some controversial decisions impacting the LGBT community.
In 2014, he supported an amendment to Indiana's constitution banning same-sex marriage, though the amendment was not ultimately passed. When Indiana's ban on gay marriage was deemed unconstitutional, Pence supported the state's attorney general in appealing the decision. When the military's "don't ask, don't tell" ruling was in the process of repeal, Pence expressed his discontent, saying, "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service because the presence of homosexuals in the ranks weakens unit cohesion." In 2015, he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, which in part allowed businesses to refuse service to LGBT individuals on the basis of religious freedom. Following immense criticism from fellow government officials, public figures and businesses, an amendment meant to protect the LGBT community was signed the following month.
4. His resumé is lengthy.
Before becoming an official contender for vice president, Pence spent 12 years as a congressman and has served as governor of Indiana since 2013.
5. People have wanted him in the Oval Office for years.
The resurgence of Pence's name in the presidential campaign feels a bit like déjà vu as he was considered a possible presidential candidate in 2008 and 2012—even heralded as conservatives' top choice at a 2012 Values Voter Summit. Still, Pence never officially ran.
6. He's no stranger to television.
Though he hasn't forged a career on the small screen quite as notable as the real estate mogul's, Pence did reportedly host radio and television in the early 1990s in his native Indiana.
7. He wasn't always a staunch conservative.
Decades before he was a prominent Republican public figure, Pence reportedly was a Democrat who idolized former President John F. Kennedy. "It may be that I grew up in a big Irish Catholic family like he did," Pence told CBN News in 2010. "Maybe it was that my grandparents were so proud of the first Irish Catholic president."