As the leader of the White House coronavirus task force, Vice President Mike Pence has been on the receiving end of the criticism over the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) tore into the vice president for what she termed "the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country." In fact, she asserted that the Trump White House "has forfeited their right to re-election" because of it.
She didn't have as much to say about her and Democratic nominee Joe Biden's plans to fight COVID, offering just a vague explanation that they want to implement a national strategy for contact tracing and a process to provide a vaccine that will be free for all.
Pence was ready with several counterpunches. If Biden had been in charge and not President Trump, Pence argued, we would still be allowing travel from China, and the outbreak would have been much deadlier. Before he flip flopped on the issue, Biden opposed Trump's travel ban.
The president's decision to ban those flights, Pence said, "bought us invaluable time" and "saved hundreds of thousands of lives." It gave them time to reinvent testing, deliver billions of supplies to health care workers, and start developing a vaccine under Operation Warp Speed. The VP said he believes they will have tens of millions of doses before the end of this year.
And yet, Sen. Harris slammed the brakes. Yet again, she suggested that the American people should not trust a vaccine that is developed under President Trump.
"If the public health professionals - if Dr. Fauci, if the doctors tells us that we should take it, I'll be the first in line to take it," she said. "But if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I'm not taking it."
When asked if Americans should get the coronavirus vaccine if it becomes available under the Trump administration, Sen. Kamala Harris says she would take it if the doctors recommend it, but not if Donald Trump tells the American people to do so. pic.twitter.com/FLInOd2OL4
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 8, 2020
Moderator Susan Page tried to switch gears and asked a different question of Pence, but he couldn't let his opponent's outrageous answer slide.
Pence told Harris how "unconscionable" it is that she keeps "undermining" the confidence in the eventual coronavirus vaccine.
“Stop playing politics with people’s lives,” Pence urged his opponent.
She was shamed by other members of the Trump White House as well.
Unbelievable.
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) October 8, 2020
Kamala has faith in a vaccine, but not with Trump
She knows, under any administration, FDA develops a vaccine & Trump has led in achieving good testing, therapeutics & soon a vaccine, but she SHAMEFULLY instills doubt when American lives could be saved#VPDebate
Join the conversation as a VIP Member