- The Washington Times - Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence on Wednesday said Donald Trump would have essentially strong-armed the Chinese into providing him with an adequate exit from Air Force One, saying the recent tarmac flap involving President Obama demonstrates a lack of respect from the rest of the world.

“The way we restore American credibility is by electing a president who will command the respect of the world,” Mr. Pence said on “Fox and Friends.”

“Whether it be the vulgar diatribe of the president of the Philippines or the unwillingness of people working on the tarmac in China to roll the staircase up to Air Force One - I think they really give evidence of a lack of respect for this president and a lack of respect for this country that is totally unacceptable,” Mr. Pence said.

The airport didn’t bring out a grand staircase for Air Force One on Mr. Obama’s recent arrival for an overseas trip, and Mr. Trump had said Tuesday if he had been given a similar tarmac reception he’d have closed up the plane and left the country.

“Donald Trump made it clear - if they weren’t going to wheel the staircase up, the plane was going to roll,” Mr. Pence said Wednesday.

“And I guarantee you five minutes after that tower was informed in Beijing that we were going to roll, I guarantee you that staircase would have been rolled up to Air Force One and the president would have been able to walk off with dignity,” he said.

• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.

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