Mike Pence calls Donald Trump Jr.'s inflammatory coronavirus comments an 'understandable' response

When pushed by CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence didn't directly refute some inflammatory comments about the coronavirus previously made by Donald Trump Jr.

Trump Jr. said Friday that Democrats seemingly "hope" the virus comes to the United States and "kills millions of people" so they could bring down President Trump. Tapper played the clip for Pence and asked him if he believed anyone — Democrat or Republican — actively wanted the virus to spread and harm Americans. Pence, who is in charge of the American response to the coronavirus, didn't outright agree with Trump Jr., but he did say there was some harsh rhetoric being tossed around, and he thinks the younger Trump was mainly arguing that the outbreak shouldn't be politicized.

"Responding to the kind of things that have been hurled is understandable," Pence said, before adding that he was setting politics aside to "work the problem." Tim O'Donnell

The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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