WATCH: Chuck Todd To VP: Why Can’t Trump ‘Say A Negative Thing’ About Putin?
Vice President Mike Pence once again found himself in the position of having to contort himself like a human pretzel to defend the insane and offensive things that Donald Trump says.
On “Meet the Press” this Sunday Chuck Todd asked Vice President Mike Pence point blank, why President Donald Trump can’t seem to find “a negative thing” to say about Vladimir Putin?
Todd was asking Pence to respond to a remark by Donald Trump in an interview that set to air Sunday on Fox News where Trump said he respects Putin and dismissed the idea that Putin is “a killer.” Trump responded by saying, “There are a lot of killers. We have a lot of killers,” Trump said. “Well, you think our country is so innocent?”
Watch the exchange Trump says American is “not so innocent” here.
Todd asked Pence, “Moral equivalency?. Is there a moral equivalency there? What was that, Mr. Vice President?”
“No, no, not in the least. Not in the least,” Pence said. “What you’re hearing there is a determination by the President of the United States to not let semantics or the arguments of the past get in the way of exploring the ability to work together with Russia and with President Putin in the days ahead.”
Todd pressed Pence again, “You know the Putin record here. What American leader has done something similar?”
“That’s not, not what the President said in the least,” Pence replied.
“Then why can’t he say a negative thing about Vladimir Putin?” Todd asked.
“Well, he has expressed himself in the campaign, an election that he won, that he was determined to go forward and see whether or not we might be able to start anew in a relationship with Russia,” Pence said.
Todd followed up, “Are you comfortable with using those same words to describe Vladimir Putin? That basically, you know, yeah, he’s a bad guy, but we’ve done some bad things too. Are you comfortable with that moral equivalency?”
“Again, I don’t accept that it’s a moral equivalency,” Pence said. “I really don’t.”
“You think he misspoke?” Todd asked.
“No, I truly believe—look. President Trump has been critical of American policy in the past and I expect he’s always going to continue to be candid with the American people,” Pence replied.
