Vice President-elect Mike Pence said President-elect Trump’s critical comments about Boeing’s production of new Air Force One planes is an example of how he is using the “bully pulpit” to advocate for issues before he takes office.
“I think you could call it the bully pulpit on behalf of fiscal responsibility, not a message to a particular company,” Pence told CNN host Jake Tapper on Tuesday afternoon.
The term “bully pulpit” was first used during President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration to describe how he used his high-profile platform to push his agenda.
Trump still has another six weeks before taking office but is already weighing in on issues he will deal with as president.
Pence said Trump promised to take his vision straight to the American people — not through the news media — and his tweet earlier Tuesday was an example of him doing that.
“No sooner did he hear about a $4 billion contract for a couple of new installments of Air Force One than he said we should cancel the contract, put a hold on it. And as you know, Donald Trump’s a man who’s bought a few airplanes, still got a few airplanes,” Pence said. “He’s gonna be a real champion for taxpayers and fiscal responsibility and this was just his first installment.”
Trump tweeted: “The plane is totally out of control, it’s going to be over $4 billion for the Air Force One program, and I think it’s ridiculous,” Trump said. “I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money.”
