Trump campaign adviser: Pence will maintain “aggressive schedule”

A senior Trump campaign adviser said Sunday that Vice President Mike Pence is being cautious but will maintain “a very full aggressive schedule” as he hits the campaign trail in Arizona and other states while President Trump receives treatment for the coronavirus.

“Anyone around the vice president [is] tested. People are kept very safe. And again, we can’t hide from this virus forever,” Jason Miller told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We have to take it head-on, and we have to reopen our economy. And we got to develop this vaccine and defeat the virus.”

Mr. Pence, who must be on standby while Mr. Trump is hospitalized, plans to visit Arizona after Wednesday’s vice-presidential debate in Utah and before he votes early in Indiana and visits other places.

Mr. Miller said members of Mr. Trump’s family will hold virtual events while they’re in quarantine for possible exposure to the virus, before hitting the trail in person.

He also said he spoke to the president, who is eager to get back on the trail once he is released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“Once he gets out of the hospital, he’s ready to get back to the campaign trail. He sounded pretty energetic,” Mr. Miller said. “But he said something else that I thought that was important too … and that was to be careful, and that was to remind folks to wash their hands, use hand sanitizer, make sure that if you can’t socially distance, distance to wear a mask. And I thought that was a pretty important message to send and a reminder to the rest of the country.”

Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, has tested positive for the virus, but Mr. Miller said he isn’t upset with the president’s team over possibly lax protocols.

Mr. Miller said the country needs to take the fight “head-on” and there are plenty of unknowns about the virus, so the White House and others are doing what they can to protect people.

“I know that every time that I’m around the president that I have a test taken, that everybody around me has a test taken. They do a temperature check,” he said. “We take this very seriously. I always keep at least 6 feet away from the president. We keep a certain level of distance. So, I feel like the White House does a very good job of protecting folks and going above and beyond.”