Pence touts Barrett’s nomination to Supreme Court in Waukesha stop

Vice President Mike Pence in his 10th 2020 campaign visit to Wisconsin today touted the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court to a crowd of several hundred in Waukesha. 

“I’ll make your prediction: Judge Amy Coney Barrett will soon be Justice Amy Coney Barrett,” he said at a campaign rally set outside of Weldall Manufacturing as Barrett answered questions from senators on the Judiciary Committee. “We’re going to fill that seat.”

Pence also attacked Joe Biden for largely dodging questions on calls from the left to expand the number of justices on the high court.

“When you’re running for the highest office in the land, the American people deserve to know if you’re going to respect the highest court in the land,” he said. “The only explanation about why they aren’t answering the question is because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are planning to pack the court with liberal judges if they win this election.”

Biden has said his answer would be seized upon by the media and distract from more pressing issues at hand. He yesterday came closest to giving a firm answer on court expansion when he told a Cincinnati radio station he is “not a fan of court-packing.”

Pence’s 47-minute address framed the upcoming election as a choice between two visions for the future and knocked the Dem presidential nominee as a “Trojan horse for the radical left,” a familiar refrain from his previous nine visits to the state this year.

The vice president also rehashed a number of other familiar campaign themes from his previous visits, including: support for the military and law enforcement; efforts to cut taxes and regulations; and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal.

Pence also dedicated a portion of his speech to praising the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the January decision to suspend travel from China “bought us invaluable time to stand up the greatest national mobilization since World War II” before commending nation testing efforts. 

Ahead of Pence’s visit, Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield knocked the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic. 

“During his time as the head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Vice President Mike Pence has demonstrated that the Trump Administration is woefully incapable of getting the coronavirus pandemic under control,” she said in a statement. “As coronavirus infections, hospitalizations, and deaths surge across the state, the Trump Administration still doesn’t have a plan to beat the virus.” 

Pence closed the rally by urging attendees to vote.

“Remember, friends don’t let friends vote alone,” he said. “Bring a family member, bring a neighbor, bring a coworker and after you vote, I want you to tell someone.”