If you thought Kamala Harris would be the only Democrat debating Vice President Mike Pence this election season, you would be wrong. Serving as a partisan stand-in for Joe Biden’s running mate, on Friday’s CBS This Morning, co-host Tony Dokoupil demanded Pence agree with the Democratic nominee’s nasty assertion that President Trump has “cloaked America in darkness.”
During the hostile 8:00 a.m. ET hour interview, Dokoupil took it upon himself to be press secretary for the Biden-Harris campaign as he pestered Pence: “Joe Biden claims that the administration has, in his words, cloaked America in darkness, in anger, in fear, in division....There’s also partisanship at record levels, hate crimes at record levels. On the point of division and anger, does the Vice President have a point?”
The actual Vice President ripped the DNC: “Well, I found not just those words by Joe Biden last night, but so many of the speeches at the Democratic National Convention were so negative. They presented such a grim vision for America.” He then promised that the Republican National Convention would be very different:
And I think next week what you’re going to hear is we’re gonna talk about the first three years of this administration where we rebuild our military, we stood with our allies, stood up to our enemies. We destroyed ISIS, took down their leader, took down the most dangerous terrorist in the world in Qasem Soleimani. You’re going to hear how we revived the economy, not through higher taxes that Joe Biden called for last night, but by cutting taxes, rolling back regulation, unleashing energy, appointing conservatives to our courts, supporting law enforcement across the country. That’s going to be our message next week.
Clearly uninterested in giving the administration credit for anything, Dokoupil brushed all that aside: “Mr. Vice President, all of those points I’m sure you will make next week at the convention.”
Instead, the CBS host was on a mission to pretend that voting fraud doesn’t exist:
I want to get your comments on the possibility for a free and fair election. The President has been undercutting confidence in our election system actually for years now, saying it will be rigged, it will be corrupt. And the only way that you guys can lose is if there’s some sort of cheating. Respectfully, where is the evidence of ballot fraud?
Pence began to answer: “Well, I think there’s lots of evidence of ballot fraud in instances across the country – ” Dokoupil arrogantly cut him off: “There’s not, Mr. Vice President.” Pence hammered him: “Oh, sure there is, Tony. Check out Indiana, 2012, the state of Indiana, people were prosecuted for manufacturing ballots in the state of Indiana. And it’s happened around the country.”
Refusing to learn his lesson, moments later, Dokoupil sneered: “You bring up that example in Indiana. That wasn’t ballot fraud, those were applications. It didn’t have any party slant at all. And the reality is that when people look at voter fraud, you’re more likely to be struck by lightening than find a case of it and – ”
Pence provided a fact-check: “It was election fraud. People were prosecuted for election fraud, Tony. You can paper over that....People who are associated with a Democrat super-PAC were manufacturing election documents and they were prosecuted. That’s also happened in places like New Jersey and around the country.”
Dokoupil glibly remarked: “And that’s the system working, Mr. Vice President.”
The Heritage Foundation maintains a database of voter fraud cases across the United States and despite Dokoupil’s assertion that it almost never happens, over 1,200 proven instances have been documented.
When it comes to mail-in voting, Dokoupil himself did an investigation for CBS News that proved what a complete disaster a universal vote-by-mail system could be, finding a disturbing failure rate in the number of ballots delivered on time or at all.
Wrapping up the contentious debate, Dokoupil decided to waste time playing gotcha by grilling Pence on whether he believed in a bizarre conspiracy theory:
One thing I would like to agree on, in closing, is that QAnon, the conspiracy theory that says the President is fighting a cabal of cannibals and pedophiles inside the White House, of course those being Democrats, that’s not true, right? The President doesn’t really believe that, you don’t really believe that?
Pence completely dismissed the absurd notion and focused on actually holding Democrats accountable:
Well, I don’t know anything about that conspiracy theory. But I’ve got to be honest with you, Tony...The fact that you’re spending time on a major network to talk about some conspiracy online theory instead of talking about what the Democrats laid out this week....Joe Biden said last night the economy’s not going to come back until the coronavirus is over. Newsflash to Joe Biden – the economy is coming back. The only real threat to our economy is a Joe Biden presidency. I mean, the fact that he wants to raise taxes by $4 trillion, pass a Green New Deal, $2 trillion....I don’t know anything about that conspiracy theory. I don’t know anything about QAnon. And I – I dismiss it out of hand.
In addition to his takedown of Dokoupil, Pence also schooled ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America. When Democratic shills run the media, they’re just not used to having guests fight back.
Dokoupil’s failed attacks on Pence were brought to viewers by Xfinity and Hyundai. You can fight back by letting these advertisers know what you think of them sponsoring such content.
Here is a full transcript of the August 21 segment:
8:11 AM ET
TONY DOKOUPIL: Next week, voters’ attention will turn to the Republican National Convention and Vice President Mike Pence will speak there. He’s scheduled to do so on Wednesday, making his case for four more years in office. And I’m happy to say he joins us now from the White House. Mr. Vice President, good morning to you. We agree there is a pivotal moment for the country, so with your indulgence, I’ll jump right in. Steve Bannon yesterday was arrested –
MIKE PENCE: You bet, good morning, Tony.
DOKOUPIL: Good morning to you. Steve Bannon yesterday became one of six close associates of the President to be criminally charged during his administration. You’re campaigning as the law and order administration, draining the swamp, does this string of criminal charges undercut that message?
PENCE: Well, no, I don’t think so. And Steve Bannon certainly deserves his day in court. I don’t know any more about it than what I’ve seen in the news or that President Trump actually denounced that effort months ago. I think one of the great accomplishments of this administration is after Democrats like Joe Biden opposed our effort to build a wall on the southern border that the American people voted for, with the crisis of illegal immigration across this country, the President used his executive power to secure resources. Now we’ve built more than 300 miles of border wall –
DOKOUPIL: But Mr. Vice President –
PENCE: That’s the right way to do it. And it’s all part and parcel of a record that we're going to be talking about next week. It’s been a record of results –
DOKOUPIL: But Mr. Vice President –
PENCE: And it also includes, Tony...
DOKOUPIL: The question –
PENCE: ...a commitment to law and order which amazingly last night Joe Biden never mentioned the violence that has beset major cities across this country –
DOKOUPIL: Well, let’s talk about that violence. Let’s talk about that violence, Mr. Vice president.
PENCE: And the American people want to hear about solutions.
DOKOUPIL: Yeah, I think there’s also a question of character. And when you have a string of people arrested inside the administration, there are questions about judgment and character.
But let’s talk about Biden’s message, you bring it up. Joe Biden claims that the administration has, in his words, cloaked America in darkness, in anger, in fear, in division. You mention the violence in the streets. There’s also partisanship at record levels, hate crimes at record levels. On the point of division and anger, does the Vice President have a point?
PENCE: Well, I found not just those words by Joe Biden last night, but so many of the speeches at the Democratic National Convention were so negative. They presented such a grim vision for America. And I think next week what you’re going to hear is we’re gonna talk about the first three years of this administration where we rebuild our military, we stood with our allies, stood up to our enemies. We destroyed ISIS, took down their leader, took down the most dangerous terrorist in the world in Qasem Soleimani. You’re going to hear how we revived the economy, not through higher taxes that Joe Biden called for last night, but by cutting taxes, rolling back regulation, unleashing energy, appointing conservatives to our courts, supporting law enforcement across the country. That’s going to be our message next week.
But – but you know, honestly, other than the grim picture of America painted through most of the week at the Democratic National Convention, you didn’t hear much detail. And one of the things we’re going to work to do next week is make sure the American people understand the choice here is between a president who’s rebuilt our military, revived our economy, stood by all our liberties, stood for law and order, and Joe Biden and the Democratic Party...
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President –
PENCE: ...that have been overtaken by the radical left that support higher taxes, socialized medicine, open borders, abortion on demand.
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President –
PENCE: And would continue to walk away from the men and women who serve on the thin blue line of law enforcement.
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President, all of those points I’m sure you will make next week at the convention. I want to get your comments on the possibility for a free and fair election. The President has been undercutting confidence in our election system actually for years now, saying it will be rigged, it will be corrupt. And the only way that you guys can lose is if there’s some sort of cheating. Respectfully, where is the evidence of ballot fraud?
PENCE: Well, I think there’s lots of evidence of ballot fraud in instances across the country –
DOKOUPIL: There’s not, Mr. Vice President.
PENCE: Oh, sure there is, Tony. Check out Indiana, 2012, the state of Indiana, people were prosecuted for manufacturing ballots in the state of Indiana. And it’s happened around the country. Look, what the President’s pointing out is that while we all support absentee balloting, we all – I’ve voted absentee, you may have as well, where people apply for a ballot, there’s lots of safeguards so that one-person-one-vote principle. Now you have Democrat governors and legislatures around the country that are advocating what’s called universal mail-in voting, where they’re gonna send ballots...
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President –
PENCE: ...to literally every name on the voter list, even though many of those lists are outdated and expired, they have people that have died. They’re gonna send ballots unsolicited all across their state, and then, in most of the states, they’re going to allow people to do what’s called ballot harvesting, to go out and gather up the votes, very little accountability. That’s why we’re in courthouses across the country.
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President –
PENCE: We’re gonna defend the integrity of the ballot and we’re gonna win a victory on November 3rd.
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President, these are very – these are very important points that you raise. In fact, the universal mail-in voting idea, it’s nine states that are sending ballots out, and five of them are going to be doing it anyway. You bring up that example in Indiana. That wasn’t ballot fraud, those were applications. It didn’t have any party slant at all. And the reality is that when people look at voter fraud, you’re more likely to be struck by lightening than find a case of it and –
PENCE: It was election fraud. People were prosecuted for election fraud, Tony. You can paper over that –
DOKOUPIL: And that’s the system working, Mr. Vice President –
PENCE: People who are associated with a Democrat super-PAC were manufacturing election documents and they were prosecuted. That’s also happened in places like New Jersey and around the country. Look, my son –
DOKOUPIL: I think we need to –
PENCE: Tony, my son is a marine, my son-in-law’s in the Navy. Through every generation, American men and women have put on the uniform to defend our democracy.
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President, I have to add –
PENCE: The heart of our democracy is the one-person-one-vote. President Trump and I are going to stand for that every day between now and Election Day.
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President, this conversation here at the end underscores something very important, which is we do not have a shared reality in this country, in many cases on many issues. One thing I would like to agree on, in closing, is that QAnon, the conspiracy theory that says the President is fighting a cabal of cannibals and pedophiles inside the White House, of course those being Democrats, that’s not true, right? The President doesn’t really believe that, you don’t really believe that?
PENCE: Well, I don’t know anything about that conspiracy theory. But I’ve got to be honest with you, Tony –
DOKOUPIL: But you can say that the President is not – this is important –
PENCE: The fact that you’re spending time on a major network to talk about some conspiracy online theory instead of talking about what the Democrats laid out this week. I mean, Joe Biden last night said that democracy’s on the ballot, character’s on the ballot. You know, Tony, the economy is on the ballot. I mean, we’ve already – we lost 22 million jobs in the course of this coronavirus pandemic. But because of the solid foundation that President Trump poured of less taxes, less regulation, more American energy, more free and fair trade, we’ve seen nine million Americans already go back to work. Joe Biden said last night the economy’s not going to come back until the coronavirus is over. Newsflash to Joe Biden – the economy is coming back. The only real threat to our economy is a Joe Biden presidency. I mean, the fact that he wants to raise taxes by $4 trillion, pass a Green New Deal...
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President –
PENCE: ...$2 trillion. That’s where the American people are focused. That’s where our campaign is going to focus in the days ahead. And I think it’s why we’re going to win four more years for President Donald Trump.
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President, the American public will have ample time to evaluate all of those statements. I will say on the economy, there are more people out of work than jobs that have been created since the rebound from the coronavirus.
PENCE: Of course.
DOKOUPIL: But the point of the conspiracy theory, the reason it’s important to get on the record about it, is because it’s an easy thing for us to come together and say, “Ah, of course that is not happening.” But I’m not hearing you say that. You’re actually adding oxygen to this conspiracy theory...
PENCE: I’m not, come on, Tony –
DOKOUPIL: This unbelievably outlandish point of view. Come on –
PENCE: Tony –
DOKOUPIL: Tell me it’s not true and the President doesn’t believe it.
PENCE: I don’t even – I don’t know anything about that conspiracy theory. I don’t know anything about QAnon. And I – I dismiss it out of hand. It – you know –
DOKOUPIL: Okay.
PENCE: Look, the fact that – the fact that you said earlier on that we don’t have a shared reality. Tony, what we have in this country is reality. It’s amazing that Joe Biden never mentioned China in his entire speech last night. I mean, he presided over decades in Washington, D.C. that resulted in an economic surrender to China. And remember, the coronavirus came from China. And when President Trump suspended all travel from China in January to put the health of the American people first, even though China’s the second largest economy in the world, Joe Biden said that was xenophobic. Essentially said it was racist for the president to suspend travel from China. The fact that Joe Biden never talked about the violence in the streets of our cities. There’s one reality, the American people are going to make their decision this fall based on that reality. And that’s why I think we’re gonna win four more years for a president who has rebuilt our military, revived this economy...
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President –
PENCE: ...stood for law and order and stood by all of our most cherished liberties, and stood up to China from the first day of this administration.
DOKOUPIL: Mr. Vice President – Mr. Vice President, I’m getting the big good-bye here from my producers. Thank you very much, I do enjoy our conversations. Come back soon, we’ll talk to you later and we’ll see you next week. Thank you.
PENCE: We will, Tony. Thank you.
