Vice President Mike Pence abruptly canceled a speaking engagement in New Hampshire on Tuesday so that he could attend to affairs in Washington.
A staffer for Pence told people gathered to hear Pence speak in Salem about the opioid crisis that the vice president’s flight had been diverted back to Washington.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said there was “no cause for alarm,” urging calm amid questions on whether the president’s health or national security were involved.
“Something came up that required the vice president to be in D.C.,” Gidley told reporters at the White House.
Reporters began to tweet that there may be an “emergency” situation.
.@WMUR9 #breaking Emergency call back of @VP the event has been cancelled #fitn #NHPolitics pic.twitter.com/44pKQqcZ43
— Ryan Murphy WMUR TV (@95Photog) July 2, 2019
However, Pence’s office stressed there was no emergency and that his New Hampshire trip would be rescheduled.
“Something came up that required the @VP to remain in Washington, DC. It’s no cause for alarm. He looks forward to rescheduling the trip to New Hampshire very soon,” said Pence spokeswoman Alyssa Farah.
Despite reports of Air Force 2 being minutes from landing, Farah further claimed Pence never left Washington.
The @VP never left Washington, DC. There was no “emergency callback.” Something came up that required the VP to stay in DC. We’ll reschedule NH shortly. https://t.co/h270JCEUIG
— Alyssa Farah (@VPPressSec) July 2, 2019
An administration official told Axios that Pence’s canceled trip had nothing to do with a deadly Russian submarine fire that killed 14 submariners Monday evening.
Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff, said Pence was on the plane but disembarked and returned to the White House. He also told reporters they would find out why the trip was canceled “in a few weeks.”
Pence’s public schedule of events shows Pence was to participate in a roundtable discussion with former patients and alumni at the Granite Recovery Center headquarters and deliver remarks on the opioid crisis and illegal drug flow in New Hampshire before returning to Washington, D.C., in the evening.
Steven Nelson contributed to this report.
