Rachel Maddow ripped Mike Pence for a lie that was so flimsy and implausible that it is an insult to every American.
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Maddow said:
Literally, the quote the vice president’s office gave to NBC news was, quote, that has nothing to do with it. They insisted instead that the real reason vice president Mike pence was canceling his trip to the Middle East is because he was needed at home. He’s needed in Washington to vote on the tax bill. Here’s the problem. There is no conceivable mathematical scenario in which Mike Pence will be needed to vote on the tax bill. None. We have known since this weekend that Arizona Senator John McCain would be home in Arizona tonight recovering from cancer treatment. He will not be voting on the tax bill tonight. That means since this past weekend, we have — we have known the full range of mathematical possibilities for what could happen in this big Washington vote tonight. We know all the Democrats are a no, that’s for sure.
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With all of the Democrats voting for it an all the Democrats against, that vote would be 51-48, the Republicans would win. If one Republican votes no, it would be 50-49. If two Republicans vote no, the vote would be 49-50 and the Republicans would lose. John McCain is gone. That means there are an odd number of senators in Washington voting on this thing. That means there can’t be any circumstance in which there is a tie vote. In which Mike Pence has to cast the deciding vote. The only conceivable reason Mike Pence would need to be there for the tax vote is to break a tie. Mathematically speaking, there cannot be a tie. So factually makes no sense to say that Mike Pence had to bail out of his Middle East peace trip because he was urgently needed on the hill. It’s a nice story, it makes him sound very responsible and not at all afraid to go to a place where he’s not wanted and where he’s definitely going to get yelled at, but once again it is a story that is factually implausible that is coming out of the vice president’s office.
Rachel Maddow has been one of the few members of the mainstream press to point out that Mike Pence lies…a lot. Of course, any person who would work for Donald Trump must be one of questionable character, but Mike Pence is in a special class of his own. Just like his boss, Pence lies about things both big and small. He is lying to cover his backside on the Russia scandal and he is lying about why he canceled his trip to the Middle East.
Vice President Pence won’t save the country from Trump. He is an extension of Trump. A number two who is cut from the same character cloth as the current president.
Mike Pence has a problem with telling the truth, and Rachel Maddow just called him on it.
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
