Washington: Vice President Mike Pence is in a familiar spot: standing by President Donald Trump.
With Trump hospitalised with a virus that he spent months downplaying, his ever-loyal No. 2 will play an increasingly prominent role in the weeks ahead.
Pence will take a leading role in campaigning around the country in the final stretch before the Nov. 3 election, aiming to keep the president’s supporters energised and deflecting criticism of his handling of a virus that has killed over 205,000 Americans.
The president’s positive diagnosis on Friday has intensified scrutiny of the administration’s cavalier approach to the pandemic.
The spotlight on Pence will be especially bright on Wednesday when he will participate in the vice presidential debate with California Sen. Kamala Harris.
Pence will almost certainly be pressed to explain shifting accounts of the president’s health over the weekend and justify Trump’s decision to hold large in-person campaign rallies during a pandemic events that often flouted public health guidelines by congregating thousands of mostly mask-less supporters. Normally, the vice presidential debate is inconsequential. That is not the case in 2020, said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential bid. The public has so many questions about how we got here and it’s an opportunity for Pence to answer some of those. (AP)
