After being repeatedly pushed, vice president-elect Mike Pence fell apart and could not offer any proof before finally admitting that Trump’s voter fraud claims are just an opinion.
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STEPHANOPOULOS: But why is it refreshing to make false statements?
PENCE: Look, I don’t know that that is a false statement, George, and neither do you. The simple fact is that…
STEPHANOPOULOS: I know there’s no evidence for it.
PENCE: There is evidence, historic evidence from the Pew Research Center of voter fraud that’s taken place. We’re in the process of investigating irregularities in the state of Indiana that were leading up to this election. The fact that voter fraud exists is…
STEPHANOPOULOS: But can you provide any evidence — can you provide any evidence to back up that statement?
PENCE; Well, look, I think he’s expressed his opinion on that. And he’s entitled to express his opinion on that. And I think the American people — I think the American people find it very refreshing that they have a president who will tell them what’s on his mind. And I think the connection that he made in the course…
STEPHANOPOULOS: Whether it’s true or not?
PENCE: Well, they’re going to tell them — he’s going to say what he believes to be true and I know that he’s always going to speak in that way as president.
Stephanopoulos press Pence repeatedly for proof, and with each go around the vice-president elect crumbled a little more until he admitted that in Donald Trump’s opinion there was voter fraud. However, Donald Trump’s opinions are not facts.
Notice how the vice-president elect repeatedly tried to change the subject when asked for evidence. Pence and Trump have been inaccurately citing Pew for months.
When FactCheck.org checked Trump and Pence’s citation of Pew, they found, “Trump accurately quoted from the report, ‘Inaccurate, Costly and Inefficient: Evidence That America’s Voter Registration System Needs and Upgrade.’ But the report did not allege the 1.8 million deceased people actually voted. Rather, Pew said that it is evidence of the need to upgrade voter registration systems.”
If Pence is looking for evidence of voting irregularities, why would he be looking in his home state of Indiana? Trump and Pence won Indiana, so if there were voter fraud, it would most likely be for Pence.
The ticket that a handful of voters in a few swing states will be putting in the White House doesn’t believe in facts. Every single journalist should push the incoming administration for facts because Trump and Pence don’t believe in facts, and when they are pressed, they fall apart.
The last administration that didn’t believe in facts got the nation into a war of choice in Iraq. Pence and Trump have the capacity to do the same or worse if they continue to choose not to be bound by facts and truth.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
