Fox News "The Story with Martha McCallum" - Transcript Interview with Mike Pence

Interview

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Welcome Mr. Vice President. Good to have to you with us this evening.

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Good to be with you, Martha. Thank you.

MACCALLUM: I just want to first - good to have you sir. I want to get your reaction to what happened in there today. You spent many years on the Hill representing Indiana. What did you think about that committee hearing today with Attorney General Barr?

PENCE: Well, it was clear that the Democrats on the committee wanted to be heard more than they wanted to listen. Bill Barr is leading the Justice Department in this country with great integrity and he brings a lifetime of commitment to the rule of law.

But to see it today in a little bit that I was able to watch, Martha, it was clear that the Democrats wanted to hear themselves talk more than they wanted to hear from the Attorney General of the United States.

MACCALLUM: Yes. I mean I think that's just a fact. I think if we added up the time, I think it would prove to be a fact. Here is one of the thrust of today's hearing, which I wanted to ask you to address and it's the argument that the administration is basically fear mongering what's going on in Portland and beyond in order to leverage law and order election. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADLER: The President wants footage for his campaign ads. In most of those cities, the protests had begun to wind down, before you marched in and confronted the protestors.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN, D-CALIF.: The playbook is to create the impression that there is violence that he must send in federal troops and that's how he hopes to win the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: What do you say to that, sir?

PENCE: Well, Martha, look, from July 1 forward, the Department of Homeland Security informed me yesterday that we've had 188 federal officials injured by violent protesters in Portland, night after night tearing down the fencing, vandalizing the property, throwing projectiles, you've all seen it. And I think the fact that Jim Jordan stepped forward today and used his time to put those images before the committee and before the American people was a great service.

The violence in Portland has got to stop. It is clear that the local leadership and the Mayor of Portland are not willing to step up. That's why we are talking to Governor Kate Brown and the State of Oregon about working in a way forward. Made no mistake about it--

MACCALLUM: No.

PENCE: --our federal officials are going to have the protection that they need. We're going to protect that federal courthouse. And President Trump has made it clear, we're going to have law and order in our streets.

With Joe Biden, the radical Democrats, they want to defund the police. What we are going to do is we're going to fund law enforcement, we're going to stand up for law and order, and that begins right in Portland.

MACCALLUM: So the other images that are shown are this wall of moms, wiping tear gas out of their eyes, and we have all seen the image of the navy member who was - they came at him pretty hard and broke his hand. Do you have any regrets about those incidents?

PENCE: Well, I regret any time anybody is hurt. But let's be clear, before federal officials moved in a significant way in early July to the federal courthouse in Portland, the Mayor of Portland had said that he had seen a "month of violence in Portland". I mean there is nothing to the suggestion that having federal law enforcement officials, marshals, DHS personnel on the ground has had a causative effect here.

The reality is that the Mayor of Portland in the local community has simply allowed violent protesters to overrun that community. That community was looking the other way on groups like Antifa a long time ago and now they are paying a price.

But what President Trump has made clear, what we've made clear with federal officials as we are saying this far and no farther, we are not only going to protect the federal courthouse and do what it takes to bring our security there.

But we're going to make sure that work with the State of Oregon and we reestablish peace on the streets of Portland. The people of that community deserve nothing less. And with this President of this administration, we're going to stand strong with law enforcement and for law and order.

MACCALLUM: This head-to-head is clearly going to be a big issue in the election and you see how both sides are characterizing it at this point to their advantage. We'll see what the American people decide they believe in the end and all this.

With regard to the election, even a question raised today, two big issues that were raised today, one is the issue of mail-in ballots and here is what Representative Greg Stanton of Arizona said about that today. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GREG STANTON, D-ARIZ.: There are fears that you and the President are laying the foundation to interfere with the upcoming election specifically with vote by mail, as my colleagues have previously noted, because both of you have advanced false conspiracy theories about mail-in voting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: There are so many states in the country that already have mail- in voting, they've had it for a long time. Is there any reason not to accelerate or offer that opportunity to people given the COVID-19 pandemic? Is there anything that's wrong with that in your mind?

PENCE: Well Martha look, what we've had in this country for a long time is absentee ballot voting by mail. We've had in the State of Indiana, I've voted in absentee myself since I get this job in Washington D. C.

MACCALLUM: Yes, you are right.

PENCE: And look, that requires a person request the ballot and then the signature is verified and we protect the vote. The integrity of the vote is paramount. I mean through the generations, Americans have worn the uniform, fought and died to protect all of our freedoms and the right to vote is at the heart of this democracy, and absentee balloting is a time honored tradition.

But what you see across this country in Democrat led states is an effort for universal distribution of ballots. Without the accountability that you have with absentee balloting, and when you combine that with states like California that actually allow what is called vote bundling or vote harvesting, you see where the entire ability for widespread fraud is very real.

And what you're hearing from President Trump and you will continue to hear from this administration is a commitment to protect the one person, one vote, integrity of our electoral system, and we are going to stand strong on that.

MACCALLUM: Let me ask you - I mean I get asked this a lot, do you think it's going - because we will be obviously doing our coverage as usual - do you think it going to be a one night election or you think it's going to go on for weeks, could it go - even go on for a month? Given the situation that we are in with this pandemic, what do you think?

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PENCE: Well look, I think President Donald Trump is going to be elected for four more years, and I see greater enthusiasm all across this country today.

MACCALLUM: But do you think that will happen on November 3?

PENCE: As I travel across the country, then I saw four years ago and I think it's going to translate to November 3. But make no mistake about it, the reality of voter fraud is undeniable. We have seen case after case around the country where there have been prosecutions. The president spoke about New Jersey. We've seen it in other states.

In my own state of Indiana in 2012, there was a Democrat super PAC that was involved in our elections that literally - there was a group of people that were prosecuted for falsifying ballots. This happens, Martha.

And I got to tell you, when you think about the price we have paid for this democracy through the generations, my father wore the uniform in combat, my son is in the Marine Corps, my son-in-law is in the navy, we have to stand for the principle of one person, one vote. And voter integrity is at the heart of what our democracy is all about.

MACCALLUM: It sounds like that the possibility is open that it could go on longer if indeed that integrity - you believe that integrity is breached or the President does. So we will stay tuned to see where that goes.

I was listening to the former Vice President Joe Biden today and he was speaking about his "Build Back Better" plan. One of the things that he mentioned was that he was trying to seek more equity in terms of racial justice and he said that he would be open to the idea of more farmland for black and brown farm owners. Do you think that it is proper to allocate benefits or resources in this country based on the color of people's skin?

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PENCE: I think under this President, you've seen an agenda that's about advancing the opportunity for every American regardless of racial or creed or color. And Martha, I couldn't be more proud that in our first three years, because this is a President who cut taxes, rolled back regulation, fought for free and fair trade, and supported educational opportunities for every American.

We saw the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded for African-Americans, we saw historic investments in black colleges and universities around America. And with Senator Tim Scott, we saw the creation of more than 8,000 opportunity zones in cities that are tracking investments. If Joe Biden and the Democrats want to do something for minority communities, how about - let minority families choose where their children go to school? I mean how about.

MACCALLUM: Well, I wanted to ask you about that. But I am going to take that as a no that you are not in favor of the allocation of land based on skin color. You didn't directly answer the questions, but is that accurate, are you not in favor of any program like that?

PENCE: Well, honestly I didn't hear what Joe Biden said today and I don't even understand the concept. What we do in this country is we create opportunities for everyone. Joe Biden is denying the ability for African- American families and minority families to choose where their children go to school. He actually wants to defund the school choice program right here in Washington D.C.

MACCALLUM: No, we asked his representative about that last night and I think that's going to be a big issue.

PENCE: When you talk about building back the economy better, remember this is a President who passed historic tax cuts, rolled back regulation. Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, their unity agenda of the radical left, they actually want to raise taxes by $4 trillion. They have a $2 trillion Green New Deal program that looks like cylinder (ph) on steroids.

I mean look, we're not going to build America back better with more government, higher taxes, more regulation, more liberal policies. We're going to build America back better, stronger and more prosperous by doing again what President Trump and I did in our first three years, and that is less government, less taxes, free and fair trade, educational opportunities for all. That's the way that we can grow this economy and full recovery and then some from this pandemic.

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MACCALLUM: I only have a few more minutes and I would be remiss if I don't ask you some questions about your COVID-19 meetings today. But I do want to be, since you went there, I would like to ask you about school choice because I was very interested in this particular soundbite from the President on this issue of going back to school. Let's play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: If schools do not reopen, the funding should go to parents to send their child to public private charter religious or home school of their choice.

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MACCALLUM: Now that - I think that caught a lot of people's attention, Vice President. And today, you have the American Federation of Teachers saying that they will back teachers who want to go on strike in this country, as you are under efforts to try to reopen the schools and get kids back in the classroom this fall.

So what does that look like? If I'm a parent in America and my school says they are closed, and President Trump says that I can somehow use that money for school choice, that's not on the books right now. What if I really want to make that happen? How can I do that?

PENCE: Well, it's one of the reasons why we are demanding that a significant portion of any additional relief funding for education in our states actually go to support school choice programs around the country.

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But look, Martha, I'm married to a school teacher. She is getting ready to be back in the classroom this fall. We've got to get our kids back to school. Now there's going to be some states and we follow the data on the White House Coronavirus Task Force county by county, city by city. There are going to be some areas that will want to move in a more measured way. We will expect Governors and states as they make those decisions.

But look, CDC put out guidance last week that recommended that we get our kids for their academic wellbeing and their health and wellbeing back into the classroom. We know the risk of the coronavirus to healthy children is very low. We know that there are real costs disrupting education for special needs kids, disrupting nutrition. I mean the reality is our kids are going to be better off in school and by working with the states, implementing CDC guidance, we can have.

MACCALLUM: But can they - sir, pardon me for interrupting, but can they as the President said, can parents send their children to a public, private, charter, religious or home school or other choice under the current law? Do they have that option?

PENCE: Martha, the President said they ought to be able to do that. There's been no greater champion of school choice in the history of this country than President Donald Trump. We're going to continue to stand for and advocate that principle.

But right now it's absolutely essential and we are working with every Governor to get our kids back in school. It's best for our kids academically and personally, it's best for working families. And as we open up America, we got to open up America school. And make no mistake about it Martha, as CDC said again last week, as American pediatricians said a couple of weeks ago, we can safely reopen our schools.

MACCALLUM: Yes, there's a lot of pushback.

PENCE: And at the President's direction, we're going to work our hearts out to get our kids back in the classroom.

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MACCALLUM: Lot of union organizations, a lot of teachers, a lot of pushback on that. And I know that there's a lot of charter schools and religious schools that would love to have the opportunity to offer those spots to those kids. So that's something we are going to watch personally.

Okay, vaccines, some of the sort of reality check on vaccines is that, once they are out there, it's not going to be an instant, everything is better now, everybody gets a vaccine. There is some doctors saying they may work for some people, they might not be a complete umbrella for others. What you can tell us right now about how different it will be at the end of this year or the beginning of next year?

PENCE: Well look, just yesterday I was in Florida, the President was in North Carolina. We literally saw in record time the start of Phase Three clinical trials for the first coronavirus vaccine.

MACCALLUM: Yes, that's remarkable.

PENCE: Now Martha, you understand this. But people need to understand, a vaccine usually takes years to develop, but what President Trump did early on was say, we need to clear away any red tape barriers.

He called on our pharmaceutical industry to step up and to accelerate the process without cutting any corners on safety, and now we've got a half a dozen different vaccine platforms that are in development. And I got to tell you, when you got Dr. Fauci saying that it's not if, it's when we have a vaccine, it gives you the signal that we really have great confidence that by this fall, we're going to have a vaccine.

And the really exciting thing is under operation warp speed, we are literally producing those vaccines right now. We are purchasing millions of syringes right now, so that the moment that the FDA says that a vaccine is safe and effective, we will have the supplies on hand and literally offer vaccines to tens of millions of Americans and we'll start that process the day that it gets approved.

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MACCALLUM: Begin mass production. Yes, that is not the way it usually happens. All right, before I let you go, testing, I had a close friend who needed to get a test this week, was told 7-10 days until they would get the results back.

I mean by that time anybody that you - if you got it, anybody you came in contact with, I don't know how you are going to contact trace that person - if the wait is too long, everybody says this everywhere you go, when are we going to see a situation where you can either do a home test or you can get a test result back in 24-48 hours at the latest?

PENCE: Well, first off, I think the American people should take great pride in the fact that four months ago, we were at a standing start. We had done about 8,000 coronavirus tests. As of today, we have done 55 million coronavirus tests because of the public private partnership that President Trump initiated early on.

We are actually doing 800,000 coronavirus tests a day on average. That being said particularly in some hotspot areas, we're dealing with some delays. The average amount of time we are told from the commercial labs which do half of the testing is about four and a half days. It's one of the reasons why the FDA this last weekend approved what's called pooling, Martha. This will allow these commercial labs not just to test one swab at a time, but to test five and ten samples at a time.

MACCALLUM: And that hopefully will speed it up?

PENCE: And it will speed it up. But also remember, the other half of testing is done very quickly because the half of testing in this country is already being done with point-of-care tests that turn it around in 15 minutes or at hospitals and in-hospital labs. When people are in hospitals, we want to get that test done immediately. We are working with research hospitals around the country to make sure we do it.

MACCALLUM: I mean that's great if you can get it, I went all through, I Googled every single place in the entire state of New Jersey and you can't get a rapid test.

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PENCE: We are making great progress and - one last thing on that Martha, if I may.

MACCALLUM: Yes.

PENCE: We are also distributing 15,400 Abbott point-of-care 15 minute test to every single nursing home in America.

MACCALLUM: Well, that's important. That's very important. We talked about that a lot here.

PENCE: 600 last week and 600 this week, and in the next four weeks or so, every nursing home in America will have a 15 minute test to be able to test residents and faculty. And we hope very soon when it's approved visitors visiting loved ones.

MACCALLUM: All right. I got to jump out there or I'm going to get cut off. Vice President Mike Pence, thank you very much sir, great to have you with us.

PENCE: Good to be with you, Martha.

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