Former Vice President Mike Pence accused President Biden and Democrats on Tuesday of paying “lip service” to kitchen table issues ahead of the midterms.
Mr. Pence said that the recent crises at home and abroad, most notably Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and inflation reaching a 40-year-high, were forcing Mr. Biden to reshape his rhetoric.
“You literally saw that in in the president’s State of the Union address,” Mr. Pence said. “There were [a few] things … that was striking to me … to hear the president literally say, we’re going to secure our border, we’re going to open our schools, and we’re going to fund the police.’”
The comments were made during an appearance by Mr. Pence on the “Real America” podcast hosted by Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel. The interview was shared exclusively with The Washington Times before publication.
Mr. Pence warned during the interview that the White House was not serious about putting the “pocketbooks of American families and American businesses,” ahead of the “radical left.” He noted that while Mr. Biden attempted to portray himself as a moderate, the administration was pushing forward on a thoroughly progressive agenda.
The divergence between rhetoric and policy is particularly notable on economic matters, Mr. Pence said. While Mr. Biden has promised to combat inflation, he’s also pushing to restart negotiations on the administration’s stalled $1.75 trillion social welfare bill.
“Now, he just paid lip service to [fighitng inflation] because in the very same breath he turned and tried to resurrect the build-back broke bill that’s already been rejected by Congress out of hand,” Mr. Pence said. “To think that at a time when inflation is at a 40-year-high this is a president that thinks raising taxes on the American people is a good idea.”
Mr. Pence noted that Mr. Biden took a similarly mixed position on immigration — pledging to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and calling for the legalization of millions of illegal aliens currently residing in the country.
“While he pays lip service to securing the border, literally in the same sentence he advocated a broader range of amnesty that I have ever heard a president describe from the podium,” Mr. Pence said. “After 2 million people cross our border illegally — a record in a single year.”
The interview comes as Mr. Pence is traveling the country to boost Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterms. Mr. Pence also has a memoir coming out later this year that will chronicle his life leading up to his tenure in the White House.
He is considered a leading contender for the 2024 GOP nomination if former President Donald Trump does not mount a comeback bid.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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