Trump is either trying to use Vice President Mike Pence as a scapegoat or he honestly believes that Pence’s special connection to God will somehow save us all from the impending bad episode of 24 we are all trapped in by naming Pence the head of the coronavirus outbreak. Either way, we are all fucked.
A point that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made Wednesday when he slammed Pence’s appointment as robot in charge of running point on the coronavirus, citing Pence trying to pray away an HIV outbreak that occurred during his time as Indiana governor.
“Trump’s plan for the coronavirus so far:
-Cut winter heating assistance for the poor.
-Have VP Pence, who wanted to ‘pray away’ HIV epidemic, oversee the response.
-Let ex-pharma lobbyist Alex Azar refuse to guarantee affordable vaccines to all.
Disgusting,” Sanders tweeted Wednesday, the Hill reports.
Sanders included a clip of Azar, Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary, noting that because the vaccine would be dependent on “private sector” investments, he couldn’t guarantee that the vaccine would be affordable.
From the Hill:
Pence faced widespread criticism as governor of Indiana following an HIV outbreak in Scott County led to more than 200 cases in 2015 after Pence and GOP state lawmakers defunded Planned Parenthood, which was one of the primary vectors of HIV testing in the county.
The then-governor, asked if he would support a needle exchange program to slow the HIV spread, said, “I’m going to go home and pray on it.” He would later sign legislation for a temporary exchange program two months after the outbreak was initially detected.
Pence the robot said Wednesday that his plan for a possible coronavirus outbreak would be to bring Trump “the best options for action” and to “see to the safety and well-being and health of the American people,” the Hill reports.
As it stands, the coronavirus is responsible for 2,500 deaths worldwide and has infected more than 80,000 people, and the World Health Organization noted Wednesday that more cases were being reported outside of China.
Surely Pence will be fine handling the coronavirus as his plan of attack includes a steady diet of abstinence, prayer and to never been in the company of the virus without your wife present.