Vice President Pence's Daughter Answers 'Marlon Bundo' Mockers with Kindness
It's not lost on Charlotte Pence, the oldest daughter of the vice president, that her apolitical book about the family bunny is the subject of ridicule by her father's political enemies, but the 24-year-old writer is surprising critics by responding with kindness.
Charlotte Pence's new book, Marlon Bundo's Day in the Life of the Vice President pairs her writing with her mother's illustrations for a story about the family pet rabbit, Marlon Bundo, and his observations on the vice president's life.
It's currently number 4 on the Amazon best-seller list and the profits go to two charities: Tracy's Kids, an organization that provides art therapy for young cancer patients, and A21, an anti-trafficking organization.
HBO talk show host John Oliver responded with a book aimed at mocking the vice president's views on gay marriage. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, was written by Jill Twiss and ridicules the vice president's views by presenting a story about a gay romance between Bundo and another bunny.
Funds from Oliver's book will benefit AIDS United, a non-profit fighting the AIDS epidemic in the US and the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention group that works with young LGBT youth.
Oliver conceived of the idea to write the book and spent time recently on his show making fun of the vice president and promoting the satire. It's currently number one on the Amazon best-seller list.
If Oliver was hoping that Charlotte Pence would denounce his book or ignore it he may be disappointed because she's doing the exact opposite. She told The Hill that she had bought Oliver's book and said "it doesn't have to be divisive."
On Fox Business she told Maria Bartiromo, "His book is contributing to charities that I think we can all get behind -- so, I mean, we have two books that are going to charities that are about bunnies so I'm all for it, really."
The Daily Beast took note of Pence's response to her book in a headline proclaiming "Charlotte Pence Is Surprisingly Cool With John Oliver Trolling Her Bunny Book."
Media critic Dan Gainor thinks the Left has been surprised by Pence's response. "It flips the narrative," he told CBN News. "They're shocked by how grateful she's been, how she's reacted -- she's turned it around on them."
Pence may have taken a page from her dad's public relations strategy. In January, the vice president faced a similar situation when gay figure skater Adam Rippon received widespread attention during the Olympics for attacking the vice president's stance on gay rights and refused to meet with him during the Games.
The vice president responded with a tweet saying to Rippon, "I want you to know we are FOR YOU. Don't let fake news distract you. I am proud of you and ALL OF OUR GREAT athletes and my only hope for you and all of #TeamUSA is to bring home the gold. Go get 'em!"
Charlotte Pence had the opportunity to shed some light on her dad earlier this week when Joy Behar asked her on the View about the "biggest misconception" about her father. Charlotte said, "It's got to be that he has any animosity or hatred towards anyone."
Pence says that Bundo's popularity encouraged her to write the book. The pet rabbit enjoys more than 26,000 followers on Instagram.
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