Mike Pence addresses Syria, accepts Trump tape as just "locker room talk"
In his first media appearances since the tape of Donald Trump’s vulgar comments about women emerged Friday, Mike Pence addressed what seemed to be a difference of opinion with Donald Trump on Syria, and he said he was convinced by GOP nominee’s explanation that the tape is just “locker room talk.”
“He said last night very clearly that it was talk, not actions, and I believe him,” Pence said on CNN’s “New Day” Monday, in response to a question about whether he’d drop off the ticket if it turned out that it wasn’t just talk.
Pence also denied a story over the weekend that suggested he had considered dropping off the ticket when he first heard the lewd remarks. It was “absolutely false to suggest at any point in time we considered dropping off this ticket,” he said on both CNN and Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” and he went on to say that while he couldn’t condone or defend the remarks, he said on CNN that he had “encouraged Donald Trump on Friday to apologize for them. He did. He expressed his personal remorse.”
The GOP vice presidential nominee’s name came up in one instance during Sunday night’s debate, in a question about Syria policy and the vice presidential debate. In his debate with Kaine, Pence had said that the U.S. should be prepared to use military force on the military targets of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Trump, however, said he disagreed with Pence. On Monday morning, Pence protested that presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz had misrepresented his statement. The question, he said, “was about Aleppo, was about humanitarian aid” -- “you can check the transcript,” he added.
“Donald Trump’s position -- our position -- has been that we need to establish safe zones and you need to be willing to use -- you need to be willing to use resources and including military power to secure those safe zones to allow those people, including 100,000 children, to be able to evacuate,” Pence told CNN. “Last night [Raddatz] conflated that and referred to general provocation and involvement by the Russians in the Syrian regime and you know, Donald Trump’s made it clear our policy is safe zones for people suffering in Syria.”
Raddatz’s question to Trump was, “[W]hat would you do about Syria and the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo? And I want to remind you what your running mate said. He said provocations by Russia needs to be met with American strength and that if Russia continues to be involved in airstrikes along with the Syrian government forces of Assad, the United States of America should be prepared to use military force to strike the military targets of the Assad regime.”
“He and I haven’t spoken, and I disagree. I disagree” was the response from Trump. And he added, “I think you have to knock out ISIS. Right now, Syria is fighting ISIS. We have people that want to fight both at the same time.”
For context, Pence is correct that the question put to him the the vice presidential debate was about Aleppo and humanitarian aid, but his response did include an assertion about the use of military force in response to attacks on civilians. CBSN’s Elaine Quijano, the moderator of the vice presidential debate had asked Pence, “Two hundred fifty thousand people, 100,000 of them children, are under siege in Aleppo, Syria. Bunker buster bombs, cluster munitions, and incendiary weapons are being dropped on them by Russian and Syrian militaries. Does the U.S. have a responsibility to protect civilians and prevent mass casualties on this scale, Governor Pence?”
In his answer to Quijano, which included the stance he and Trump share on safe zones, he said “I just have to tell you that the provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength. And if Russia chooses to be involved and continue, I should say, to be involved in this barbaric attack on civilians in Aleppo, the United States of America should be prepared to use military force to strike military targets of the Assad regime to prevent them from this humanitarian crisis that is taking place in Aleppo.”