Vice President Mike Pence cannot contain his excitement (or dread?) about facing off against Kamala Harris on the debate stage.
In an interview with Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, half grimacing and half apparently swallowing back a little sob, the former Indiana governor told the Fox News host he “can’t wait” to take on Harris during the vice presidential debate in Utah on Oct. 7.
“I just have to tell you, I like the matchup. It’s on, Sean,” he said with a pained expression.
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After claiming the Democratic ticket had been “overtaken by the radical left,” Pence spent most of the interview regurgitating Trump campaign talking points and gushing over the president, who he said is a sure bet to win the Nov. 3 election.
“I can’t wait to get back out there. I’ll be in Iowa tomorrow telling the story of what this president has done, how we made this country stronger, more prosperous in our first three years, how President Trump has seen us through the worst pandemic in 100 years ...”
“I think the American people are going to vote for four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House,” he said, citing recent unrest in Chicago and Portland as a reason for voters to avoid “radical” Harris and Biden.
Asked about Harris’ infamous takedown of Biden during the Democratic debates, Pence told Hannity the former California attorney general’s ruthless prosecutorial skills are no match for Trump’s dazzling track record: “I think she is a skilled debater, but I can’t wait to get to Salt Lake City and be on the stage with her—to compare Joe Biden’s nearly 50 years in public life, the agenda of the radical left, the agenda that she’s embraced throughout her political career—with the results of this president and this administration.”
“I truly do believe that President Trump’s vision in our first three years was proven out,” he said.
Pence’s completely convincing enthusiasm for the debate came just hours after Harris and Biden offered a scathing rebuke of Trump and Pence during their debut together as a historic Democratic ticket.
“The case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut, just look where they’ve gotten us,” Harris said earlier Wednesday, pointing to the “more than 16 million out of work” and “millions of kids who cannot go back to school” amid a pandemic that Trump has repeatedly insisted would just “disappear.”
“And tragically, more than 165,000 lives that have been cut short, many with loved ones who never got the chance to say goodbye,” she said, noting the COVID-19 death toll that Pence did not mention in his glowing assessment of Trump’s “vision” for America.