Pence defends Trump's vulgar immigration comments: 'I know the president's heart'

Vice President Mike Pence.
(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images)

Vice President Mike Pence on Monday addressed reports that President Trump called African nations "shithole countries," more than a week after the comments were first reported by The Washington Post.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Pence defended the president from accusations of racism, telling AP that Trump does not support immigration policies that are based on race or nationality. "I know the president's heart," Pence said. Instead, what the president does support is a "merit-based" immigration policy "that puts the interests of America first," Pence said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Kelly O'Meara Morales

Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.