Mike Pence Joins the Chorus of Republicans Opposing Biden's Vaccine Mandates, And No One Is Surprised

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Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:39 pm

Former Vice President Mike Pence criticized President Joe Biden’s sweeping Covid-19 vaccination requirements. Pence lent himself to hyperbole, saying the announcement was “unlike anything I have ever heard from an American president.”

“To have the president of the United States say that he’s been patient, but his patience is wearing thin, that’s not how the American people expect to be spoken to by our elected leaders,” Pence said during an interview with “Fox and Friends.”

Praising his own approach, Pence said Biden should “lead by example” as he says he and his wife, former Second Lady Karen Pence, have done.

Biden has expressed his frustration with the 25% of Americans who have not yet gotten a vaccine.

“What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see?” he said in yesterday’s remarks. “We’ve made vaccinations free, safe and convenient. The vaccine has FDA approval. Over 200 million Americans have gotten at least one shot. We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us. So please, do the right thing.”

Now that he is out of office, it should come as no surprise that Pence has continued to mislead the public.

As the leader of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Pence was often criticized for obfuscating the realities of the pandemic. For instance, a CNN fact check conducted in July 2020, several months into the pandemic, accused Pence of painting a “rosy picture” while downplaying the pandemic’s severity.

“Perhaps Pence’s most egregious claim of the briefing was his suggestion that the country is finished with the painful part of the pandemic,” fact checkers noted, citing Pence’s own claim that the country was in a “better place” even as unemployment remained high and the pandemic killed an average of 500 Americans per day.

Pence also caused a public controversy when he exempted himself from the Mayo Clinic’s policy of wearing a face mask in the hospital during a visit.

“As vice president of the United States, I’m tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus,” he told reporters at the time. “And since I don’t have the coronavirus, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible health care personnel, and look them in the eye and say ‘thank you.’ “

The Mayo Clinic had informed Pence and his entourage about their masking policy ahead of time.