Pence Touts Military, Police, New SCOTUS Nominee In Waukesha

Vice President Mike Pence made another campaign stop in Wisconsin Tuesday with a rally at Weldall Manufacturing in Waukesha.

“I know it’s Packer country, but judging from the flags and yard signs on the way here, it’s also Trump country,” declared Pence at the outdoor event, where he spoke about supporting the military, lowering taxes and promoting law and order.

With the presidential election three weeks away, Pence gave many reminders to the crowd to vote for President Donald Trump.

“The choice has never been clearer. The stakes have never been higher,” Pence said.

Pence painted a picture of higher taxes, socialized medicine and defunded police departments if former Vice President Joe Biden is elected to the White House. He promised to “drain the swamp,” a term Trump used frequently on the 2016 campaign trail, in the next four years. He also made promises of “world-class health care.”

“I think three weeks from today when all the dust settles from this election, it’s not going to be if America is more Republican or more Democrat, more conservative or more liberal, more red or more blue. I think the choice in this election is if America remains America,” Pence said.

The Trump campaign and Biden campaign have made numerous visits to Wisconsin. Pence’s visit to Waukesha was his third in four months. He was in Eau Claire in September, Onalaska in July and La Crosse on Labor Day.

The president’s son, Eric, was in Menomonee Falls Monday, while his daughter Ivanka was in Hilbert on Tuesday. Trump is planning to be in Janesville on Saturday.

Attendees wore masks, but were not socially distanced. The campaign is visiting Wisconsin as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to climb. Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm announced 3,279 new cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin on Tuesday, and 34 new deaths due to the disease. Both are record highs.

The state also hit a record seven-day average for new cases, at 2,727 per day.

Pence said Trump has recovered from the virus, and is back on the road. In a statement, Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, said the Trump administration still doesn’t have a plan to beat the virus.

“As voters continue to receive their ballots, Wisconsinites have the power to turn the page on President Trump’s failures and chaos,” Bedingfield said.

Pence: Trump Is ‘The Most Pro-Veteran President In My Lifetime’

At Tuesday’s campaign event, Pence praised members of the armed services and veterans. At one point, he asked veterans to raise their hand, so he could give them a round of applause.

“President Donald Trump is the most pro-veteran president in my lifetime,” Pence said.

He said that when Biden was vice president, there were “years of scandals” at the Veterans Health Administration.

In 2014, a pattern of negligence was reported at VA hospitals, with veterans reporting they could not get treatment within 14 days.

Last month, The Atlantic, published a damning story saying Trump repeatedly disparaged service members by calling Americans who died in war “losers” and “suckers.” Trump has denied the allegations, but the Atlantic story has been confirmed by other news outlets.

Pence also praised law enforcement and criticized Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett for the city’s rising homicide rate.

Milwaukee, like many large cities across the country, has seen a spike in murders this year. Milwaukee is on track to have a record number of homicides in 2020.

“It’s no surprise Milwaukee has literally seen a 110 percent increase in homicides this year all while Milwaukee’s Democratic mayor has called for a cut in 120 police officers,” Pence said. “Now Joe Biden justifies it all by saying America is systemically racist. And he says that police have an implicit bias against minorities. We’re going to back the blue every day for four more years.”

Barrett’s proposed budget includes cutting 120 Milwaukee police officers through attrition.

During Pence’s speech, confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett were underway in the U.S. Senate.

Pence said some have questioned her Catholic faith, and that the attacks on Barrett’s religion need to end now.

“That dogma lives loudly in me,” Pence said. “That dogma lives loudly in you. And the right to live and work and worship according to the dictates of our faith lives loudly in the Constitution of America.”