Tag: Mike Pence

Pence tells White House staff to avoid physical contact

Axios logoVice President Mike Pence sent White House staff an email Saturday afternoon recommending “social distancing” and to “avoid physical contact” to keep themselves and their colleagues safe from the novel coronavirus.

Why it matters: This is the first staff-wide email Pence has sent across the complex during his time as vice president — and is the latest sign the White House is shifting its posture against the pandemic.

  • As recently as Thursday, Pence, who is leading the President Trump’s task force to combat COVID-19, told CNN he was still shaking hands with people at the White House.
  • On Friday before the nation’s TV cameras, Trump repeatedly shook hands with industry CEOs during a live press conference in the Rose Garden.
  • But on Saturday the president and his team began modeling different behavior — in line with public health official recommendations. Trump tweeted “SOCIAL DISTANCING!“, said he’d finally been tested for the coronavirus, suggesting that people should be cautious about shaking hands.
  • Also on Saturday, for the first time a White House physician scanned journalists’ foreheads with a thermometer before they could join the White House press briefing. Continue reading.

Trump and Pence Won’t Be Tested After Meeting With Infected Brazilian Official

New York Times logo“Both the president and vice president had almost no interactions with the individual who tested positive,” the White House press secretary said.

WASHINGTON — President Trump will not be tested for the coronavirus after coming into contact with a Brazilian official who tested positive for the virus just days after participating in meetings with him in Florida, the White House said on Thursday.

Fabio Wajngarten, a top communications aide to President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, tested positive days after accompanying him to Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and posing for a photo with the president and Vice President Mike Pence. In the photo, which he posted on social media, Mr. Wajngarten is standing shoulder to shoulder with Mr. Trump, who is clutching a brown “Make Brazil Great Again” baseball cap.

A video from the event also showed Mr. Wajngarten standing directly behind Mr. Trump and Mr. Bolsonaro as they spoke to a crowd. Continue reading.

Pence says coronavirus more lethal than flu, predicts ‘thousands of more cases’

The Hill logoVice President Pence on Thursday confirmed that the coronavirus is more lethal than the flu and predicted that the United States can expect “thousands of more cases.”

NBC News’s Savannah Guthrie asked Pence during an appearance on “Today” to confirm that “this is much more lethal than the seasonal flu.”

“It is, Savannah,” Pence responded. Continue reading.

Pence urged Israel not to target U.S. with coronavirus quarantine: “Go global”

Axios logoVice President Mike Pence personally asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to target Israel’s newly announced coronavirus quarantine at only visitors from the U.S., but to “go global,” senior Israeli officials tell me.

Why it matters: On Monday, Netanyahu announced a new policy of self-quarantine for a period of 14 days for anyone who enters Israel regardless of their country of origin — thus implementing Pence’s request, made during a call on Sunday. Israeli officials say Pence’s request significantly influenced Netanyahu’s decision.

Behind the scenes: Pence stressed to Netanyahu that he understands Israel’s concerns about a coronavirus outbreak, but said the Trump administration would not look favorably on a policy that only affected the U.S. and several European countries, like Italy. Continue reading.

White House sidelines Azar from coronavirus response

HHS Secretary Alex Azar has gone from the face of President Donald Trump’s virus team to a supporting character.

There will be a notable omission when Vice President Mike Pence visits Washington state Thursday as part of the Trump administration’s coronavirus response: health Secretary Alex Azar.

The White House on Wednesday also benched Azar from a coronavirus task force press briefing, the latest sign of diminished standing for an official who was the face of the U.S. response to the disease just a week ago.

Four of Azar’s deputies — including Medicare chief Seema Verma and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Steve Hahn, who were both added to the task force after Pence took over the federal response — joined the vice president and other officials at the White House on Wednesday. Continue reading.

Pence Press Secretary Katie Miller condescendingly blasts reporter for asking if uninsured can get tested for coronavirus

AlterNet logoVice President Mike Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller blasted a well-known reporter for asking if uninsured Americans will be able to get tested for COVID-19.

Miller, recently married to white nationalist and Senior Advisor to the President Stephen Miller, condescendingly criticized CNN political analyst Brian Karem during Wednesday’s coronavirus press briefing at the White House.

Karem, who is also the White House correspondent for Playboy, at the end of the event asked, “Guys, guys, can the uninsured, can the uninsured get tested?” Continue reading.

‘Absolutely outrageous’: White House bars press from filming or recording coronavirus briefing

AlterNet logoThe Trump administration on Tuesday barred the media from filming or recording audio of a daily coronavirus briefing at the White House, sparking outrage from members of the press and progressive critics.

Journalists were only permitted to take still photos of the briefing, HuffPost reported Tuesday, leading some to characterize the press conference as a mere photo-op rather than an effort to convey critical information about the disease as it spreads across the United States.

The briefing was led by Vice President Mike Pence, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to head the White House’s coronavirus response. Continue reading.

Pence defends Trump Jr’s claim that Dems want ‘millions’ to die from coronavirus: ‘Understandable

AlterNet logoVice President Mike Pence said over the weekend that it is “understandable” that President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., would say that Democrats want millions of Americans to die of the coronavirus.

In an interview that aired on Sunday, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Pence about the remarks made by the son of the president several days earlier.

“For them to try to take a pandemic and seemingly hope that it comes here and kills millions of people so that they can end Donald Trump’s streak of winning is a new level of sickness,” Pence told Fox News on Friday. Continue reading.

GOP scramble is on to succeed Donald Trump in 2024

From Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo to Nikki Haley and Ted Cruz, the cast of potential White House hopefuls is out in force at CPAC.

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — President Donald Trump is locked in a tough reelection battle, yet the Republicans looking to succeed him are already circling.

They’re visiting early primary states, reaching out to major donors, and — in one instance — even running commercials in Iowa. But perhaps the most overt display of ambition is on display this week here at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a rite of passage for White House aspirants eager to audition before thousands of activists whose support can be critical down the line.

Those with the most prominent speaking roles — a list that includes the likes of Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — are regarded as likely 2024 contenders. At Wednesday evening’s opening reception, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley was mobbed by fans, including a woman who wore a “Nikki 2024” baseball cap. Haley took a picture with the woman and signed the hat. Continue reading.

Pence Will Control All Coronavirus Messaging From Health Officials

New York Times logoThe White House’s attempt to impose a more disciplined approach to communications about the virus was undermined by President Trump, who complained the news media was overstating the threat.

WASHINGTON — The White House moved on Thursday to tighten control of coronavirus messaging by government health officials and scientists, directing them to coordinate all statements and public appearances with the office of Vice President Mike Pence, according to several officials familiar with the new approach.

But on a day that the White House sought to display a more disciplined strategy to the administration’s communications about the virus, Mr. Trump used an evening event honoring African-American History Month to rail against the news media, claiming it is overstating the threat, and to congratulate himself for keeping the number of cases low.

“I think it’s an incredible achievement what our country’s done,” Mr. Trump said, noting that he had moved quickly to ban travel from China after the emergence of the virus. Even though a total of 60 people infected with the coronavirus are in the United States, he ignored all but the 15 who did not initially contract it overseas. Continue reading.