Vice President Mike Pence deflected questions in Japan on why he sometimes has to play catch-up with breaking news about the Trump administration, saying President Trump has been “incredibly generous” in delegating responsibilities and opportunities to him.
“I learned as I awoke this morning of those developments and so we’ll comment on any issues affecting White House staff when we get back to Washington,” Pence said when initially asked about the departure of White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who has been accused of physically and emotionally abusing his two ex-wives.
A second reporter then asked Pence why he “often” seemed to be “a little bit out of the loop on some of this major news.”
“It’s a great honor for me to serve as vice president. President Trump has been incredibly generous with the responsibilities and opportunities he’s given me to serve, representing the United States on the foreign stage as we have here in Japan, as we will later today in South Korea, and of course at the Olympics,” Pence said.
“And also being involved in the legislative process. I’m very grateful for that. We’ll leave those White House staffing matters for when we get back to Washington,” he added.
A spokeswoman for Pence said the vice president was focused on “the critical goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula” while abroad.
Must-watch exchange between Mike Pence and @AshleyRParker, who asks in reference to Rob Porter: “Can you comment on why you often seem a little bit out of the loop on some of this major news?” (via CSPAN) pic.twitter.com/fS6UcjIWBS
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 8, 2018
Pence has been touring military installations in Alaska and Japan ahead of leading the U.S. delegation at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
On Thursday, the White House admitted it had “could have done better” in its handling of the domestic abuse allegations leveled at Porter. Porter has vehemently denied the allegations.
