- Mike Pence is about to embark on an election trip around the country to replace Donald Trump, which may put him at risk of contracting coronavirus
- The procedures to protect the vice president during the campaign are the same procedures that did not protect Trump from exposure to the virus
- Given Pence’s place in the chain of succession and the fact that Trump is hospitalized with a potentially fatal disease, the health and safety of the vice president is now vitally important
- Trump associates find it extremely important that Pence be seen as the president recovers to strengthen and energize Republican voters
Original article on POLITICO.com website
Vice president Mike Pence is the only line of defense between the commander-in-chief staying in the hospital and the prospect of taking the presidency by Nancy Pelosi. Pence is about to travel from Washington to run an election campaign for his sick boss for the next four days.
Pence will be the main character of the campaign in the near future Donalda Trumpa – he will try to secure the president’s re-election at a time when both gentlemen cannot afford another drama after the president was diagnosed with COVID-19.
After months of campaigning in small, more widely unknown places to greet voters in roadside bars, to speak to blue collar workers in the so-called workers’ states. “Rust Belt”, Pence will put Pence in the limelight this week: he will debate Kamala Harris, Democrat candidate for vice president, attend a rally in Arizona, and briefly stop at his native Indiana to cast an early vote elections.
One month before the actual election date, Pence puts everything on one card in a final attempt to save his position.
What the Trump team is afraid of
The vice president himself looks pleased to represent the Republicans in these moments of tension and uncertainty. Meanwhile, his advisers and White House allies are pressured him to wait through a difficult time in Washington until Trump is fully recovered. Today, the president remains a patient at Walter Reed Military Hospital, where he is being treated with a combination of drugs designed to combat a potentially fatal disease.
Despite this pressure to stay put, Pence’s allies say he was made for just such situations – emphasizing his calm nature, understanding of the pandemic, and unfailing loyalty to Trump.
However, other people close to him complain about his decision to travel halfway across the country while the president is in hospital and government officials have only limited information about his condition. Everyone points out that the procedures to protect the vice president during the campaign are the same procedures that did not protect Donald Trump from exposure to the virus.
“It’s impossible to say now,” he will definitely not get infected, “said one White House official. – That’s exactly what we thought about the president, and yet it happened.
Scott Jennings, an adviser to former President George W. Bush who knows the realities of the White House under the Trump presidency, suggested that Pence should remain in the city and be vigilant given his place in the chain of succession. “The president is hospitalized with a known fatal disease,” said Jennings. “That’s why the health and safety of Mike Pence is extremely important now.”
Pence and his wife Karen have been tested many times since we first heard of the Trump infection on Friday, and each time the test results were negative. However, it is known that the vice president met at least eight infected people after attending a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden where Trump announced his decision on the successor of the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court.
Among those who contracted the virus and are currently under quarantine are First Lady Melania Trump, Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien, one of President Hope Hicks’ chief advisers, Republican Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, and former state governor New Jersey, Chris Christie.
Can Pence get sick?
Many people, both with and without the White House, believe that Pence takes the coronavirus more seriously than Trump. But some say that perhaps not seriously enough.
In February, the vice president took control of the White House pandemic task force and shaped much of the day-to-day relationship between Trump administration officials and governors across the country. But at times it seemed like he was playing on two fronts: sometimes he tried to balance Trump’s actions by dismissing the virus, and other times he was pink and talked about a past tense pandemic, just like the president.
Despite the constant risk of exposure to the virus, Trump’s electoral staff, leading “Operation MAGA” (short for the former election slogan “Make America Great Again”) wants to use Pence: he is to replace the president in these actions for the 30 days elections. The vice president’s main associates and his family will also participate in pre-election events – both virtual and live across the country.
Among other things, this means Pence’s return to the campaign road as soon as possible and, as senior Trump staff member Jason Miller told NBC journalists, “making a very dynamic calendar.”
Trump spoke last weekend with his advisers and election staff like Stepien, Miller and Corey Lewandowski. The first virtual campaign rally since the diagnosis of Trump will take place on Monday.
Pence becomes the face of Trump’s campaign
“Pence is the face of the campaign now, he has to get involved from today,” a former member of Trump’s election team told us. His words reflect the opinion of current members and campaign staff who say it is extremely important that the vice president be visible at a time when the president is recovering in order to strengthen and energize Republican voters.
“We don’t act in fear,” said Steve Cortes, a high-ranking member of Trump’s staff. – The president is recovering very quickly. The vice president is healthy and works non-stop. Continuity of power is assured. We are not hiding and we will not sit in hiding, neither in the country, nor in the government, nor in our campaign.
According to two people familiar with the vice president’s plans, Pence is expected to postpone a meeting with Utah Republican when he arrives in Salt Lake City on Monday. He would spend most of Monday and Tuesday preparing for his debate with a group of close advisers. “In fact, you could say there’s another presidential debate going to take place on Wednesday,” said a former member of Trump’s election team.
Trump’s staff also announced on Saturday that Pence will be hosting a “MAGA event” at a military equipment manufacturer in Peoria, Arizona on Thursday, the day after the debate. When asked if attendees at Thursday’s event would be required to wear protective face masks, Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s campaign communications director, only said that they would be “strongly encouraged” to do so and that temperature checks would be carried out prior to entering – suggesting that no plans to change security procedures.
– The vice president himself undergoes tests every day – said another employee of the election staff. – It is very important for us to participate in the campaign. We run the campaign live and online and stick to the procedures we used from the beginning.
A former senior member of the administration said Pence could take over as president anytime and anywhere if he needed to, but he should return to active participation in the campaign provided he did not run large rallies where masks are not worn and he does not keep his social distance.
“The vice president must be aware of his responsibility as a potential successor to the president: as head of the task force, he should set an example of correct public health behavior,” he said.
How to regain the initiative in elections
In a 20-minute internal conference on Saturday, Trump campaign workers and volunteers across the country talked about what to do to gain an edge in the weeks leading up to the November elections.
Pence, though closer to the Oval Office today than ever before, throughout the meeting kept his typical respect for Trump: praising the president’s swift response to the fight against the coronavirus, recalling the Chinese flight ban and the creation of a dedicated COVID-19 task force.
– When I traveled around the country in recent days, I kept saying that the president never stopped fighting for us. Now it’s our turn to fight for him! – said the vice president on the recording that POLITICO journalists saw.
He also said Trump was asking him to tell workers to do their job in the fight against the virus. “Wash your hands regularly, use disinfectants, wear masks wherever you cannot keep social distance,” he said.
Editing: Michał Broniatowski
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