Donald Trump VP Pick Mike Pence, Gov. Malloy Aren’t Friends

Don’t expect Gov. Dannel Malloy to sing songs of praise over Donald Trump’s vice president ticket pick Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced on Twitter Friday that Pence would be his running mate.

Malloy sent several Tweets Friday afternoon criticizing Trump's decision.

"With his pick of Mike Pence, Donald Trump is doubling down on the hatred and bigotry that has defined his campaign," he tweeted.

• Get Patch's Free Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts in CT

Malloy is the chairman of the Democratic Governor’s Association and a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton. The association criticized Trump’s pick Friday.

“Mike Pence can now live out his dream of ditching Indiana for Donald Trump,” said DGA communications director Jared Leopold. “Governor Pence’s economic failure and obsession with social issues has been a disaster for Indiana and will be a drag on the Trump ticket.”

Related: Donald Trump Makes Vice Presidential Pick: It's Indiana Gov. Mike Pence

The two high-profile governors are far from friends and have clashed on several high-profile issues.
A Syrian refugee family was denied entry into Indiana in November 2015, but managed to find a home in Connecticut. At least 23 governors, 22 of which are Republican, took steps to prevent Syrian refugees from entering their states.

Malloy took direct aim at Pence.

“This is the same guy who signed a homophobic bill in the spring… I’m not surprised by anything the Governor does,” Malloy said at a press conference.

In March 2015 Malloy signed an executive order that banned state-funded travel to Indiana and other states that have laws that protect religious freedom, but don’t prohibit discrimination for classes of citizens.
Indiana eventually modified the bill after a sharp backlash and Malloy dropped the order.

Indiana followed-up with a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal that supported General Electric and other Connecticut-based companies that complained of tax increases. GE has since announced it is moving its headquarters to Massachusetts and there is some debate about how much taxes played a role in the decision.
Pence sent a letter to Immelt, along with Aetna’s Mark T. Bertolini and Jay S. Fishman of Travelers personally inviting them to Indiana.

Malloy said that Pence’s decisions on the religious freedom bill hurt the Indiana economy to the tune of $60 million, according to the Hartford Courant.

See also:

• Missing CT Native Found Dead in N.Y.; Dog Mauled to Death; State’s Best Steak Restaurant Named: CT News