Pence jokes about his publicity stunt a day after White House condemns them

Earlier this week, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the administration had no time for “publicity stunts” in the middle of a health crisis. Yet the next day, Vice President Mike Pence was caught on camera joking about delivering empty boxes of equipment during a photo-op at a Virginia nursing home.

“We don’t have time in the middle of a pandemic for publicity stunts,” McEnany said at a Wednesday press briefing. “This is not the time for that, it’s not the place for that.”

McEnany was defending the White House’s refusal to let Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top epidemiologist and a member of the coronavirus task force led by Pence, testify before a House committee. The White House claimed “the demands on agencies’ staff and resources are extraordinary in this current crisis,” and McEnany insisted that members of the task force are too busy addressing the health crisis.

Yet on Thursday, Pence smiled for the cameras as he delivered personal protective equipment, or PPE, to a nursing home in Virginia. During the photo-op, Pence seemed to joke about carrying empty boxes from a van to the nursing home.

“Well, can I carry the empty ones? Just for the camera?” Pence asked an aide.

“Absolutely,” his staff responded.

Pence did not deliver the empty boxes.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.