Vice President Mike Pence was asked who are the former presidents who told Trump that they support the wall, and Pence couldn’t name a single one.
Pence was asked by NBC’s Hallie Jackson who these former presidents are that Trump says told him that they support the wall.
The vice president answered, “Well, well, um, I know the president has said that that was his impression from previous administrations. Previous presidents. I know I’ve seen clips of previous presidents talking about the importance of border security, the importance of addressing the issue of illegal immigration.”
Pence was responding to Trump’s statement during a briefing last Friday, “This should have been done by all of the Presidents that preceded me. And they all know it. Some of them have told me that we should have done it.”
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Video:
Pence was asked to name a former president who supports Trump's wall, and he had nothing. https://t.co/80mUBQVxzV pic.twitter.com/TJAQ6hDDW5
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) January 8, 2019
The phrase the president is under the impression is Republican code for Trump made it up. There is no former living president who supports Trump’s border wall. Barack Obama doesn’t support it. George W. Bush opposes it. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are against it. The support of former presidents is something that Trump made up in order to make his position look more popular than what it really is.
There are no former presidents who support the wall, and Pence’s inability to answer the question reveals just how weak the White House position is on the wall. Each attempt to spin and lie only pushes this administration closer to being run out of office next year.
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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
