Vice President Mike Pence’s wife and daughter have written and illustrated a children’s book about the Veep’s pet rabbit Marlon Bundo (who has his own Instagram page) and they will be signing copies at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda on Thursday. The book is the day in the life of the Vice President as told by the bunny (why does the Vice President wash his hands so much?).
From the Nixon Library website, this:
Join us for the West Coast launch of Karen and Charlotte Pence’s much-anticipated children’s book, Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Life of the Vice President at the Nixon Library!
The delightful story — told through the eyes of the Pence family’s famous pet bunny Marlon Bundo — was written by Charlotte Pence and beautifully illustrated with watercolors by the Second Lady herself.
Proceeds from the book will be donated to Tracy’s Kids, an art-therapy program at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis and A21, a nonprofit aimed at ending sex trafficking.
I highly doubt the book is “much anticipated.” For that, see George R. R. Martin’s next book for “Game of Thrones,” and that’s not a children’s book.
Vice President Pence is perhaps one of the most homophobic elected ever in the federal government. His stance is repeatedly anti-gay and he believes in gay conversion therapy and adores Dr. James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family.” And to wit, HBO host John Oliver did this piece on Pence this past Sunday and it’s brilliant.
To troll the Pence family’s new book, Oliver commissioned another children’s book about a day in the life of the Vice Presidential rabbit and, wouldn’t you know it, Marlon Bundo is gay. The story is charming and funny and it’s already outselling the Pence book.
From the Hollywood Reporter, this:
As Vice President Mike Pence’s family got ready to release a children’s book about the adventures of their family pet, John Oliver and the staff of Last Week Tonight published their own parody version. In an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday, Oliver was able to celebrate the news that his picture book — Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo — scored the number one spot on Amazon’s best-seller list.
“Mike Pence is a man who I think has few qualities to his name,” Oliver told DeGeneres. “However, one thing I love about him is his rabbit.”
The rabbit, Marlon Bundo, is the subject of both the Pences’ and Oliver’s book. The Last Week Tonight host’s book goes beyond telling the story of Marlon Bundo’s adventures in the White House, and includes a narrative of the rabbit falling in love with and marrying another male rabbit — a nod to Pence’s ultra-conservative views on same-sex marriage.
“He [Pence] clearly, to put it in the nicest possible terms, is not a friend of the LGBTQ community,” Oliver said before celebrating the book’s top Amazon spot.
Oliver also revealed that the book had sold out because he wasn’t anticipating anyone would actually purchase it.
“They’re doing a reprint, so you can still buy it,” Oliver said. “You can buy the second printing, so it’ll take a few weeks.”
Proceeds from the sale of the book would be donated to the Trevor Project and AIDS United.