Vice President Mike Pence declined to say the words “black lives matter” Sunday when pressed by CBS host John Dickerson, instead insisting that “all lives matter.”
During an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Dickerson told Pence that the phrase is something “protesters would like to hear” from leaders.
“You won’t say that. Why?” he asked.
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Insisting that he has been “inspired by the example of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” throughout his life and has campaigned for civil rights, Pence acknowledged that the current political platform of the Black Lives Matter movement is “really a hard issue for me.”
“And as a pro-life American, I also believe that all life matters, born and unborn,” he said. “But what I see in the leaders of the black lives matter movement is a political agenda of the radical left that would defund the police …”
“Leave that out of it. Just the phrase …” Dickerson interrupted, attempting to get Pence to say the words.
“That would tear down monuments, that would press a radical left agenda and support calls for the kind of violence that has beset the very communities that they say that they’re advocating for,” Pence continued. (RELATED: Larry Elder Rips Black Lives Matter: ‘All About Transferring Property From White People To Black People’)
“But, sir …” Dickerson interjected, but Pence pressed through.
“I’ve literally met with African American leaders around this country, and in the national capital area, who made it clear to us they want law and order, they want peace in our streets,” Pence said.
“So you won’t say black lives matter?” Dickerson asked.
“John, I really believe that all lives matter, and that’s where the heart of the American people lies.”