‘I Think the American People Find It Very Refreshing That They Have a President Who Will Tell Them What’s on His Mind’
Vice president-elect Mike Pence says Americans find it “refreshing” to have a president who will tell them “what’s on his mind,” even if that means lying to them. The Republican Indiana governor who next month will be sworn in to become the person one step away from the Oval Office told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that there’s no evidence that Donald Trump’s tweet claiming he won the popular vote if you remove the “millions” who “voted illegally” in the November election is false. Pence then strongly misrepresented a study from the Pew Research Center, attempting to twist its findings to support the president-elect’s false claim.
“I don’t know that that is a false statement,” Pence told the host of “The Week” on Sunday, referring Trump’s tweet. “He’s going to say what he believes to be true, and I know he is always going to speak in that way as president.”
Pence went on to support Trump’s constant stream of lies by saying, “I think one of the things that’s refreshing about our president-elect and one of the reasons why I think he had an incredible connection with people all across this country is because he tells you what’s on his mind.”
Pence told Stephanopoulos that “the Pew Research Center found that there were millions of inaccurate voter registrations around the country,” in an attempt to support his boss’s falsehood.
In fact, as ABC News notes, that in itself is inaccurate, reporting that “the Pew study’s primary author, David Becker, tweeted in response to references to his research:
“As primary author of the report the Trump camp cited today, I can confirm the report made no findings re:Â voter fraud. We found millions of out of date registration records due to people moving or dying, but found no evidence that voter fraud resulted. Voter lists are much more accurate now than when we issued that study in 2012, thanks to the 20 states sharing data through @ericstates_info.”
Pence went on to defend Trump’s comments, saying “it’s certainly his right” to make those statements.
When challenged, Pence clarified, “It’s his right to express his opinion as President-elect of the United States.”
“I think the American people find it very refreshing that they have a president who will tell them what’s on his mind,” Pence concluded.
Watch:
UPDATE:
Last week in court filings Trump’s attorneys stated there is “no evidence — or even an allegation — that any tampering” occurred in Pennsylvania’s elections and made similar claims in other filings in Michigan. Trump’s lawyers are working hard to halt Jill Stein’s efforts to have the votes recounted in those two states, and his Super PACs are doing the same in Wisconsin.