Vice President Mike Pence defended President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday night and warned Americans that they will not be “safe in Joe Biden’s America.”
Speaking to a small crowd at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Pence accepted the renomination as Trump’s running mate. He spoke as Hurricane Laura bore down on the Gulf Coast, sparing a moment early in his address to urge residents to heed local officials’ warnings and stay safe.
In his speech, Pence acknowledged that the country is living through “challenging times” and a “time of testing,” but argued that Trump’s response to the pandemic had saved an “untold number of American lives.”
He also criticized Biden, the Democratic nominee, for saying in his convention address last week that “no miracle is coming.”
“What Joe doesn’t seem to understand is that America is a nation of miracles,” Pence said, “and we’re on track to have the world’s first safe, effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said recently that he is “cautiously optimistic” that a vaccine could be produced by the end of the year or early 2021.
Pence also touched briefly on protests in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., and the shooting death of two protesters there on Tuesday night.
Pence said that the “violence must stop — whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha” and he vowed to restore “law and order.”
He argued that Biden’s policies, and his criticism of police, would exacerbate the danger.
“The hard truth is, you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,” Pence said.
Pence warned that Biden would lead America toward socialism, and said that the choice in the election is not between liberal or conservative policies.
“The choice in this election is whether America remains America,” he said.
He vowed that if re-elected, he and Trump would “make America great again, again.”