CHICAGO — Former Vice President Mike Pence gave a blistering critique of the Biden administration Monday in a speech at the University Club of Chicago.
“The economic woes upon us have been caused almost single-handedly by one person, the 46th President of the United States of America, Joe Biden,” Pence said. “Never in my lifetime has there been a greater disconnect between the president and the American people.”
Making no mention of the economic upheaval caused by COVID-19, Pence celebrated America’s economic performance during the Trump years.
“We passed the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. We cut taxes in half for the typical family of four, we doubled the child tax credit, we delivered more than $3.2 trillion in tax relief,” he said.
Pence argued every American benefitted from the Trump administration.
“On this Juneteenth holiday, when we commemorate the emancipation of enslaved Americans by General Order 3 on June 19, 1865, I could not be more proud that under the Trump/Pence administration we expanded educational opportunities for minority, we doubled the DC voucher program,” Pence said. “We created those opportunity zones, we saw billions of dollars invested in our inners cities and we saw the lowest unemployment ever recorded for African Americans in American history.”
All of this comes as Congress’ January 6th panel lays out details of former President Trump’s efforts to pressure Pence to overturn the 2020 election results. The former president has criticized Pence for refusing to reject the Electoral College votes cast for Joe Biden.
On Monday, Pence made no mention of the January 6th hearings. The former vice president’s stop in Illinois comes before former President Trump holds a downtown rally this weekend in support of Congresswoman Mary Miller – who is battling Congressman Rodney Davis in a GOP primary.
Pence heads to Peoria Monday night for an address at a Lincoln Day dinner celebration.
