Vice President Mike Pence was put in an awkward position this week when ABC’s Byron Pitts asked if he speaks with God about deaths caused by the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The “Nightline” co-host prefaced his question Wednesday evening by claiming that he was not being political.
“I have a final question for you,” Mr. Pitts said, NewsBusters reported. “I ask this not in a political way, but for you, sir, like so many of us in our nation, are you a person of deep faith. No one doubts that. When you talk to God in your moments alone, do you find yourself worrying at all that people you represent and care deeply about have died and will die who did not need to because of steps the federal government did not take soon enough?”
Mr. Pence paused and collected himself before answering.
“Well, thank you for mentioning that we are talking about one American at a time and I promise you, that’s the way President Trump thinks of this, it’s the way I think of it,” he replied. “We wanted the American people to see the numbers so that we understand the challenging days that lie ahead, but I want people to know that our future is in your hands, that if every one of us will do and put into practice the Guidelines for America that we can bring those numbers down.”
The vice president added that America will “get through this and we’ll come out stronger than ever before.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly rejected the premise that it did not take the contagion, which originated in China, seriously as it spread around the globe.
Officials have cited at least 56 key decisions it made at the pandemic’s outset that saved American lives.
Some include:
- Jan. 7: The coronavirus incident management system was created by the CDC.
- Jan. 20: Efforts to develop a vaccine were announced by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Health’s infectious disease institute.
- Jan. 31: Mr. Trump placed travel restricts on China and declared a public health emergency.
- March 13: Public-private partnerships for drive-through testing sites were announced by the president.
“The only thing we weren’t prepared for was the media,” Mr. Trump recently said when asked a question on coronavirus preparedness by NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker. “The media has not treated it fairly. I’ll tell you how prepared I was: I called for a ban for people coming in from China long before anybody. It was your network, I believe they called me a racist because I did that.”
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