This is one of four parts of the Daily Caller’s exclusive interview with Mike Pence.
Vice President Mike Pence said he was proud of the administration’s response the coronavirus in an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller on Thursday.
Pence believes American COVID-19 deaths might have reached “millions” if the administration had not taken certain steps, he told the Caller in an exclusive interview. Pence argues Trump’s action on banning travel from China and later Europe, as well as his partnering with the private sector saved lives. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Here’s What Mike Pence Thinks Of Joe Biden The Man, Not The Politician)
With the U.S. more than six months into widespread lockdown and social distancing measures, Woodward’s report has lawmakers and members of the media scrutinizing the opening weeks of the Trump administration’s response. Pence being appointed head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force places him near the center of that scrutiny.
Pence said there will be plenty of time in the “future” to learn from the early stages of the outbreak, and for now, his focus is getting funds out to people who still need support.
“I truly do believe that the President’s leadership, the incredible dedication across the federal government that I’ve witnessed on the White House Coronavirus Task Force and to no less than the partnership that we’ve had with most governors around the country, with first responders and doctors and nurses and health care workers, is something that the American people, I think, can rightfully take pride in the way that they in this nation have responded,”Pence said.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 26: Vice President Mike Pence speaks after leading a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the Department of Health and Human Services on June 26, 2020 in Washington, DC. Cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are rising in southern and western states forcing businesses to remain closed. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)
“I just couldn’t be more proud of everything that we’ve done all along the way,” he added. “While we grieve the loss of more than 190,000 of our countrymen. I have no doubt in my mind that the President not taking that action with China early on; had we not stood up the national mobilization that we stood up and we not call on the American people in March to slow the spread, to flatten the curve, to make the kind of sacrifices that were necessary for us to meet this moment, that we literally would have lost hundreds of thousands or millions of American lives.”
Pence also spoke to the Caller about the Republican Party eventually returning to its roots in fiscal responsibility, with Pence arguing money concerns would have to wait until after the coronavirus pandemic. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Mike Pence Won’t Rule Out Running For President In 2024)
Pence’s comments came hours after Senate Democrats struck down Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s attempt to carry another costly coronavirus relief bill through Congress. Pence says he and President Trump plan to return to fiscal conservatism once the current crisis has been addressed and Republicans have regained control of Congress.
“President Trump has made it clear we believe providing additional direct support to families, providing additional support and extension of the kind of programs that have literally saved more than 50 million jobs around the country, and other assistance, is is absolutely essential to bring our economy all the way back,” Pence said.