HARRISONBURG, Virginia — Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the 2016 GOP vice presidential nominee, told Breitbart News exclusively that there is a “contrast” between GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s solutions-focused campaign and Democratic nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton’s negative campaign.
Here on his campaign bus after a rally with hundreds of supporters after he defeated his counterpart Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Pence framed the election as a stark choice between someone who offers real change in Trump and Clinton—a protector of the status quo who is running a “real insult-driven campaign.” Pence told Breitbart News:
Donald Trump has given voice to the frustrations and aspirations of the American people like no leader in my lifetime since Ronald Reagan. He’s cast a vision to Make America Great Again. From the days of the primary through our convention and every day since, he’s been outlining the details and policies that will restore American strength at home and abroad, uphold our Constitution, promote the kind of trade policies that will put the American worker first, end illegal immigration. He’s laid out the details of those policies. And the contrast with the real insult-driven campaign of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine could not be more dramatic. Their campaign every day seems to be intent on calling a press conference and focusing on what Donald Trump said or Tweeted in the last days or weeks or in some cases years. But the reason why you saw the crowd here in Virginia, the reason why you see the enormous crowds that are coming out for Donald Trump, is because by articulating a vision and laying forth the policies for how we Make America Great Again, Donald Trump has inspired a movement in this country and I think it’s going to carry him all the way to the White House.
Pence added that, as that vision Trump has laid out for the country comes more and more into focus, it will propel him to the White House.
“I couldn’t have been more honored to be on that stage and sharing Donald Trump’s vision to Make America Great Again,” Pence told Breitbart News. “I know there’s a lot of talk about who won the debate, some people think we won the debate, but I think Donald Trump won the debate. I think Donald Trump’s vision to Make America Great Again won the debate. As you saw the enthusiasm here in Virginia today, I think that vision is going to continue to win between now and election day—and we’re going to elect Donald Trump the 45th president of the United States.”
The interview with Breitbart News, Pence’s first since winning the debate, also focused on Kaine’s inaccurate claim that Clinton apologized for her accusation that millions of Americans who support Trump for president were “irredeemable people” who are in the “basket of deplorables.” Pence, too, touched on how Clinton was caught on just-released audio tape bashing supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders.
During the debate on Tuesday evening in Farmville, Virginia, Kaine falsely claimed that Clinton apologized to the millions of Americans she insulted by making those remarks. Clinton never apologized for them at all. With regard to the remarks about Trump supporters, she only said she didn’t mean “half” of them. Regarding the Sanders supporters, she never apologized at all. Asked about Kaine’s comments on the matter during the debate, Pence said his false claim that she apologized for insulting the American electorate was “remarkable.”
Pence went on to tell Breitbart News:
I’ll tell you on that one, it really was remarkable to me that after Sen. Kaine listed one personal insult against Donald Trump after another—then he accused us of running an ‘insult-driven campaign,’ just—it was remarkable to me. It was also remarkable because Hillary Clinton called millions of Americans who think we can Make America Great Again, who think we can stand tall on the world stage again, who think we can rebuild our military, revive our economy, stand by our Constitution—Hillary Clinton said millions of Americans who believe in Donald Trump’s vision for our country are in a ‘basket of deplorables.’ She said they are irredeemable. She said that they are not America. And despite what Sen. Kaine said last night, she never apologized for that—she just said she shouldn’t have said ‘half.’ So, you know, all she did was say she got the number wrong. But I think people across the country got the message. I expect Bernie Sanders supporters got the message earlier this week when it came to light in February that Hillary Clinton had referred to Bernie Sanders supporters as ‘children of the Great Recession’ who had moved into their parents’ basements.
Pence said that Clinton’s comments about Trump supporters and Sanders supporters disqualify her from being able to serve as president.
“I mean, you cannot lead people you loathe,” Pence said. “Hillary Clinton’s statements demeaning millions of Americans, including Bernie Sanders supporters, I believe disqualifies her to lead this nation as president. What I can tell you about Donald Trump is, whether you agree or you disagree with him, he is a man who respects the right of every American to make their choice in this election and to hold the views that they hold, and I couldn’t be more honored to stand with him.”
Ultimately speaking, when asked why the establishment media refuses to cover the movement of millions of people across the country coming out to Trump rallies and getting involved in the campaign nationwide, Pence said: “You’d have to ask them. I really don’t know.”
But he said that movement of people from all walks of life is exactly why he’s been so inspired as Trump’s running mate.
“It’s been one of the things that’s been most inspiring to me,” Pence said. “To campaign with Donald Trump, and to campaign for Donald Trump, is to literally see a movement of the American people. Donald Trump has articulated a vision for this country that is resonating with Americans from every walk of life. They are coming out, as they did here in Virginia today, in the middle of the week—in the middle of the afternoon—to get behind this man, and as he would be the first to say, to get behind a movement to Make America Great Again. I couldn’t be more excited about the days that remain in this campaign, and we’re just going to work our hearts out.”
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