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VP campaigns for President Trump in Waterford Township

Lester Graham
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Michigan Radio
Vice President Mike Pence speaking to a crowd of supporters in Waterford Township.
Credit Lester Graham / Michigan Radio
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Michigan Radio
Part of the crowd chosen to sit behind Vice President Mike Pence during the campaign stop.

About 800 people trudged across a muddy field to get to the airport in Waterford Township where Vice President Mike Pence was to speak. Speakers blared country music and 70s rock songs while a crowd of about 800 waited for Pence, half of them not wearing masks.

He said he and President Donald Trump created the greatest economy in the history of the world, made the military strong again, and saved lives in how they handled the coronavirus pandemic. More than 210,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. Pence promised a vaccine is coming soon.

Then he called for businesses and schools to be opened again.

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Pence said he and Trump had made America great again to the crowd’s chant of “Four more years!”

“So we stood for security, we fought for prosperity, fought for American energy and American workers, and President Donald Trump has stood strong for the rule of law,” Pence stated.

He then praised Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett and promised the Senate would confirm President Trump’s choice for the high court on Monday.

The Vice President then criticized Democratic candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, as being a career politician who has accomplished nothing.

“When you look at their agenda of higher taxes, open borders, socialized medicine, a green new deal, defunding the police, packing the courts, it’s clear joe Biden would be nothing more than a Trojan horse for the radical left,” Pence told the crowd.

Credit Lester Graham / Michigan Radio
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Michigan Radio
Vice President Mike Pence spoke to about 800 supporters.

Pence also claimed the Trump administration has accomplished more to build the economy than the Obama administration.

“In our first three years – after Joe Biden had spent the previous eight years trying to tax and spend and regulate us back to a growing economy – President Donald Trump created the greatest economy in American history,” Pence said.

Check out this BBC News article fact checking those claims. The piece notes, "It's true the economy was doing well prior to the pandemic - continuing a trend which began during the Obama administration - but there have been periods when it was much stronger. The U.S. economy has now been hit by the biggest economic contraction ever recorded and the highest unemployment rate in more than 80 years."

Pence illustrated that the current presidential campaign is part of a larger culture war. He said the Trump administration’s policies ensure people’s gun rights are not violated, that anti-abortion efforts are supported, that freedom of religion is protected, and that law enforcement can do its job.

Credit Lester Graham / Michigan Radio
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Michigan Radio
One of a handful of protesters across the street from the Pence campaign rally.

“When it's all said and done, it's not going to be whether America is more conservative or more liberal, whether America is more Republican or more Democrat, more red or more blue. I think the choice in this election is whether America remains America,” the Vice President said, and then encouraged the people in the crowd to vote and take a friend with them to the polls to support the re-election of Donald Trump.

Across the street from the Pence campaign rally, a small group stood with signs critical of the Trump administration.

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Lester Graham reports for The Environment Report. He has reported on public policy, politics, and issues regarding race and gender inequity. He was previously with The Environment Report at Michigan Public from 1998-2010.
Rebecca Williams is senior editor in the newsroom, where she edits stories and helps guide news coverage.
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