There's a famous moment in Jurassic Park where Dr. Alan Grant instructs on how to avoid the jaws of an oncoming Tyrannosaurus Rex: "Don't move! He can't see you if you don't move!"
Today, Vice President Mike Pence heeded that advice in a similar attempt to avoid a dinosaur with tiny hands.
The moment came during a heated meeting between Pence, President Donald Trump, incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in the Oval Office.
As often happens in Trump world, what was supposed to be a simple photo-op devolved into an impromptu debate over funding for Trump's long-promised border wall. The scene culminated in the President proclaiming to stunned Democratic leadership that he'd be "proud" to shut down the government in the name of border security (which he insisted could not be achieved without a wall).
Watch part of the heated exchange below.
While the two Democratic leaders' and the President's verbal jousts were animated enough to instantly earn national attention, Pence is going viral for exactly the opposite reason: He was still as a statue, often shut his eyes, only moving to shift in his chair.
It looked...awkward.
Many thought he could've been sleeping, or even dead.
But never fear, many theories are developing as to just what was going on in Pence's mind.
Some say he was focusing on being chaste, while others insist it was ambition or fear.
While Pence's posture and closed eyes may have confused some, there was at least one victor in the room: Speaker Pelosi.
Throughout Trump's interruptions and taunts, Pelosi remained engaged, calm and tenacious. She even said to the President at one point:
"Please don't characterize the strength I bring to this meeting."
The Speaker appears to have quelled some doubts of the more progressive House Democrats as to whether or not she would commit to standing up to Trump.
Hopefully, Mike Pence will wake up before 2019. It's clear Trump is going to need a formidable ally if he's going to take on the Democratic House in 2020.
@IrnaEnglish/X
