Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a possible dark horse 2016 presidential candidate, said Sunday that it’s counterproductive for conservatives to question President Obama’s patriotism.
“I don’t think it helps to question the president’s patriotism or motives,” Pence said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Leading Republicans in recent days have been forced to weigh on former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s claim that Obama does not love America.
Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., took heat on Saturday for saying he did not know whether Obama loved the United States or was a Christian.
However, some conservatives have accused the media of forcing Republicans to address trivial matters that have no real bearing in the broader political debate.
Defending Giuliani, though, Pence on the Fox program said the New Yorker was “understandably frustrated with a president fully willing to lecture the people of this country about the Crusades but [who] is unwilling to call Islamic extremism for what it is.”
And the governor seemed to echo complaints about the relentless focus on Giuliani’s comments.
“Washington, D.C.,” Pence argued, “needs to get back to focusing on the priorities of the American people.”
