GOP vice presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence Friday insisted that Donald Trump knows how to stand as a strong leader, and "everybody knows" that standing up to Russian aggression will be "really different" under a Trump-Pence administration.
"The reality is that whether it be [Russian President Vladimir] Putin or whether it be literally the dissolving of the map in the wider Middle East, in Libya and in Syria, in Iraq with the rise of ISIS," Trump will remain strong, while the Obama administration's weakness "arouses evil," the Indiana governor
told NBC "Today" show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.
Pence also fired back at former acting CIA Director Michael Morell's strong
condemnation of Trump in a New York Times op-ed accusing the New York businessman of being dangerous to national security.
"I suppose this is the same CIA official that told the president that ISIS was the JV team," Pence said. "I mean, come on, Savannah. These people are playing politics. And I get all of that. You and I have known each other for a while. I was in Washington a long time. You know, the American people know we've got to be stronger on the world stage, we've got to have a stronger economy at home, and I think that's why you're seeing the enormous crowds that are turning out all over the country."
Trump's poll numbers have been
dropping across the board, but Pence pointed out that it's still early in the campaign.
"The only poll that really matters is on election day," Pence said, and he believes Trump's message calling for a stronger America at home and abroad is resonating with voters from both parties.
There have been some Republicans backing away from Trump, but the GOP nominee said earlier this week that the party has never been "more united." Guthrie said she wanted to know if Pence could agree with Trump's statements with a "straight face."
"I can," he responded, telling her that he and Trump are standing together to say to Americans that their country will be strong again.
"We can be strong on the world stage again, we can stand with our allies and stand up to those that threaten us," Pence said. "Most Americans are reeling this week with the news that the Obama administration delivered $400 million in cash to the mullahs in Iran on the very day that they released four hostages . . . and in doing that, in a deal that Hillary Clinton actually initiated with the Iranian mullahs, this president and this administration have endangered the lives of every American on the world stage."
He also pushed back on the continued criticism over Trump's statements on Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan, saying that both he and Trump have said their son is an American hero.
"His family, like every Gold Star family, should be cherished by every American," Pence said. "We've continued to do so. But look, we've got to rebuild this military, we've got to stand with our soldiers, we've got to give them the resources that they need to defend this country, stand with our allies, and Donald Trump is going to do that."
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