Vice President Mike Pence gave two interviews tonight in which he was confronted on why President Trump could not give a straight answer to the question of whether Vladimir Putin is a friend or foe.
Trump instead sidestepped this morning and called Putin a “competitor” instead.
CNN’s Dana Bash pressed Pence on the topic, and the veep hedged a bit, talking about how the upcoming Trump-Putin summit will be an “opportunity” for the United States.
“How is somebody,” she asked, “who your own intelligence community says was involved in meddling in American elections not a foe of America?”
Pence went back to the word “competitor” that Trump used, adding, “I don’t think we have any illusions.”
Over on Fox News, Bret Baier asked Pence the same issue and Pence said that the U.S. clearly has “competing interests” with Russia, but they still need to find common cause.
Baier asked if there’s any “skepticism,” given Secretary of State Mike Pompeo‘s recent visit to North Korea.
Pence responded, “I think President Trump believes in engagement, but he’s someone who is a realist about the world.”
You can watch both clips above, via CNN and Fox News.
[image via screengrab]
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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac