Vice President Mike Pence’s years as governor of Indiana is proving again to be a huge asset to President Trump as the new administration works its way through its first natural disaster, Hurricane Harvey.
Pence, who left the 2016 campaign trail to return to Indiana where a tornado struck, emerged Monday as the administration’s voice on how it’s handling the Texas disaster.
He appeared on four major radio shows by noon, including the nationally broadcast Rush Limbaugh show where he praised first responders and volunteers for helping save those threatened by rising floodwaters.
“These moments bring out the character of our nation. We’re seeing the generosity, the compassion, the courage of the American people in high relief, whether it be the first responders who — you know, the Coast Guard is in the air — was in the air as of yesterday even though this is still a tropical storm. I mean, you have first responders who have risked life and limb to rescue families that were stranded after Hurricane Harvey made landfall,” said the vice president.
“To see the way that people are volunteering, to see the way that people are contacting the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Samaritan’s Purse, and other organizations, and providing the necessary financial resources that those groups are already deploying on the ground is — it just — it really is deeply inspiring to President Trump and myself and to our entire administration,” he told Limbaugh.
The host said he was inspired by the TV images.
“So much in our life has become politicized. But this incident, it has its political elements if you go to the wrong places in the media, but people that are on the ground there don’t seem to be involved in that at all. There is a great display of self-reliance. There is a great display of neighbor helping neighbor; Americans setting aside, whatever it is that divides them — and it may not be that much anyway — and all banding together to help. It seems like a unified effort here,” said Limbaugh.
Pence was also interviewed on Houston’s KHOU, and by Chris Salcedo on KSEV and KTSAs Trey Ware Morning Show.
Speaking to Ware, Pence promised that the administration will be helping Houston, Austin and San Antonio for many months to come.
“I can tell you, having spent a good part of the weekend with the president in Cabinet meetings called on Saturday and on Sunday, the president has been continuously updated, fully engaged, he’s deployed the full resources of the national government. He’ll reflect on that tomorrow, and people can just be confident that as we move through this rescue operation that we’re there for the long haul. We’re there for the long haul with Texas through the recovery efforts,” he said.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
