Pence to Janesville “The Choice is Clear”
Vice-president’s speech at Holiday Inn Conference Center says economy is on the ballot.
Mike Pence. Photo is in the Public Domain.
Vice President Mike Pence campaigned in Janesville Monday, marking the second time he’s been to Wisconsin so far this month. He said the “choice is clear” between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Pence’s visit was billed as a “Make American Great Again” rally to showcase the Trump administration’s record.
Supporters started gathering early at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Janesville. Upon arriving in Air Force Two, Pence was met at Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport by Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Janesville native. The two exchanged an elbow bump in greeting. Both wore face masks.
A second term for Trump would ensure “more jobs, more conservative judges, more support for police and our troops,” Pence told supporters inside the conference center where chairs were spaced apart, but many attendees did not wear face masks or had them hanging below their chins.
During an online press conference prior to Pence’s visit, Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and state Rep. Deb Kolste, D-Janesville, blasted the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’ve got new cases spike with colleges across the state and country, and our hospitals in our state can’t still, to this day, get the reagents they need to run tests, which is why we have a reduction in tests right now in our state in a pretty severe way,” Pocan said.
Pence said millions of tests are being done across the U.S. and offered condolences to those who died from COVID-19.
“Our hearts go out to the families who’ve lost loved ones,” he said. In Wisconsin, 1,210 people have died due to the disease.
Kolste, the state democrat who represents the city where Pence gave his speech, blamed the Trump administration for damaging the economy as businesses closed or scaled back operations because of the pandemic.
But Pence said the economy has been made stronger by the administration cutting red tape for businesses, allowing them to operate more efficiently. As for the pandemic, Pence said the Paycheck Protection Program saved 50 million jobs, including in Wisconsin.
The presidential race puts the economy on the ballot, along with law and order, he said.
Pence also paraphrased part of a Robert Frost poem, “The Road Not Taken,” as he urged Americans to take a path he told supporters would lead to prosperity and give the Trump administration four more years to “drain that swamp.”
In a release prior to Pence’s Janesville visit, the Biden team criticized the Trump administration on an economy that has struggled in some sectors even before COVID-19.
“Even before the pandemic, Wisconsin manufacturers were struggling and farmers were weathering an erratic trade war. Today, many are barely hanging on,” Biden deputy campaign manager and communications director Kate Bedingfield said in a statement.
Both campaigns have tried to appeal to farmers in the Dairy State, with Biden pointing to a high number of farm bankruptcies and Trump touting a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that could increase dairy exports.
Pence and democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris were both in Wisconsin on Labor Day.
Listen to the WPR report here.
Mike Pence Campaigns In Janesville: ‘The Choice Is Clear’ was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
More about the 2020 General Election
- Senator Agard Statement on Senator Knodl’s Continued Relitigation of the 2020 Presidential Election - State Sen. Melissa Agard, Senate Democratic Leader - Aug 29th, 2023
- Report Calls For Criminally Charging State’s Fake Electors - Henry Redman - Dec 19th, 2022
- Vos Withdraws Subpoenas, Ends Gableman Probe - Henry Redman - Aug 30th, 2022
- Judge Blasts Gableman Probe, Deleted Records - Henry Redman - Aug 17th, 2022
- Vos Fires Gableman, Ends Election Probe - Shawn Johnson - Aug 14th, 2022
- Judge Orders Gableman To Pay $163,000 In Legal Fees - Rich Kremer - Aug 2nd, 2022
- Prosecute 2020 Fake Electors, Advocates Demand - Erik Gunn - Aug 1st, 2022
- Trump Calls For Nullification of Wisconsin’s 2020 Election - Henry Redman - Jul 12th, 2022
- Legal Fight Over Gableman Probe Keeps Growing - Shawn Johnson - Jun 30th, 2022
- Back In the News: Fake Elector Scheme Dogs Ron Johnson - Bruce Murphy - Jun 28th, 2022
Read more about 2020 General Election here
Mike Pence is exactly right. The choice in this year’s election could not be clearer, not only on issue after issue, but also on the future of American Democracy. Some Specifics:
If you believe that the COVID epidemic is going away, or that it is a “hoax,” that Trump’s lies were simply intended to keep the country calm, and that the Trump administration has done a “fantastic” job of managing it, you should vote for Donald Trump.
If you believe that climate change is a Chinese hoax, that the current – and increasingly frequent – extreme weather events are unrelated, that people in a burning West just need to “sweep the forests,” that we need to encourage all-out fossil fuel development and eliminate regulations that address climate change and move toward a carbon free economy, you should vote for Donald Trump.
If you believe that those who serve in our military are “losers” and “suckers,” because, as the draft-dodging Trump said, they “don’t get anything out of it,” “anything” being money, that the leadership of the military is stupid, and that Donald Trump, who has never read a book and thinks Finland is part of Russia is smart and should have his finger on the nuclear trigger, you should vote for Donald Trump.
If you believe that a President Biden is going to take away your guns and build low-income housing for you-know-who next to your nice suburban house, you should vote for Donald Trump. Vote twice if you agree with Trump aide Michael Caputo who says you should buy more guns and Ammo now, because they will be in short supply after the election.
If you believe that the most corrupt administration in history – in federal agency after federal agency – either isn’t corrupt, that “they all do it,” or that it’s good to have businessmen running things, you should vote for Donald Trump.
If you think it’s okay for a president to pardon his criminal pals, you should vote for Donald Trump.
If you believe that our nation’s friends are Putin, Bolsonaro, Kim, Orban, MBS and other autocratic crooks, and that our adversaries are democratically elected governments and leaders, you should vote for Donald Trump. Ditto if you believe that Russia is not actively supporting Trump and undermining our election. And double-ditto if you believe that Trump and Jared have brought peace to the Middle East.
If you believe that white people are the real victims of racism in this country, and that Donald Trump represents correcting this terrible wrong, including unleashing the police on minority and immigrant communities, you should vote for Donald Trump. Even if it involves putting children in cages and destroying families.
If you believe that mainstream media outlets are all lying and fake news, and that Fox News is a trustworthy source of information, you should vote for Donald Trump.
If you believe that Donald Trump represents the interests of working people, and that he has brought back manufacturing jobs and helped farmers in Wisconsin, in addition to being a backer of the great Foxconn success, you should vote for Donald Trump.
If you believe that liberal “elites” don’t respect you, but that Trump and the Republicans do, you should vote for Donald Trump.
If you believe that the ruining of careers and lives by Trump and his aides is part of “draining the swamp” or getting rid of the “deep state,” as opposed to the destruction of the basic institutions of American life, you should vote for Donald Trump.
If you believe that expertise and people who know what they are talking about are a “deep state,” and that you want to listen to Trump and his acolyte’s views that COVID will just go away, climate change is a hoax, and that Trump’s relationship to Putin and Russia is all fine, you should vote for Donald Trump.
Finally, with respect to all of the items above, if you believe that 20,000 lies and counting is okay, and having a megaphone for lies in Fox News is what we need, or that they aren’t lies if you believe them or want to believe them, you should definitely vote for Donald Trump. And if your vote helps give Trump a second term, you should be ready to take pride in the consequences of a second Trump term.