Mike Pence awkwardly dodged multiple questions about Trump's claim that former presidents told him they should have built border walls
- Vice President Mike Pence fielded several questions on Tuesday about President Donald Trump's recent claims that his predecessors wished they had built walls.
- Trump said Friday that former presidents told him border walls should have been built long ago.
- Since then, representatives for all four living former presidents have denied Trump's claims.
- Pence offered a slight defense of the remarks to NBC's Hallie Jackson, before pivoting away.
- "I know I've seen clips of previous presidents talking about the importance of border security, the importance of addressing the issue of illegal immigration," he said.
Multiple journalists grilled Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday about President Donald Trump's false claims that his predecessors privately told him they wished they had built border walls during their terms.
Pence appeared on NBC News and ABC News early Tuesday morning to discuss the administration's push for a border wall amid a government shutdown stretching into its third week.
Trump triggered immediate skepticism on Friday when he said during a news conference that previous presidents acknowledged a border wall should have been built long ago.
"This should have been done by all of the presidents that preceded me," Trump said. "And they all know it. Some of them have told me that we should have done it."
Representatives for all four living presidents have recently made statements saying they never discussed the topic with Trump. Two of them - former presidents Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter - even released statements condemning the wall.
A spokesperson for former President George H.W. Bush, who died in November, declined to comment to The Washington Post and said it was too soon for Bush to be "dragged into such debates."
But when Pence was asked by NBC's Hallie Jackson about the falsehood on Tuesday, he dodged the question.
"I know the president has said that that was his impression from previous administrations, previous presidents," Pence said. "I know I've seen clips of previous presidents talking about the importance of border security, the importance of addressing the issue of illegal immigration."
Jackson pushed back, asking, "That's different than telling the president though, right?"
"Honestly, the American people want us to address this issue," Pence said.
Pence similarly deflected when ABC's Jonathan Karl asked about the falsehood.
"Well, look. The American people aren't as concerned about the political debate as they're concerned about what's really happening at the border," Pence said. "The passion you hear from President Trump, his determination to take this case to the American people, as he will tonight in his national broadcast from the Oval Office, comes from this president's deep desire to do his job to protect the American people."
Pence was referring to Trump's prime-time address on border security scheduled for 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday. All of the major broadcast and cable news networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, and Fox - have announced they will carry the remarks live.
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- The shutdown over Trump's border wall has also shut down a major program employers use to check immigrants are in the US legally
- The effects of the shutdown are only going to get exponentially worse as the fight drags on
- Trump will visit the southern border on Thursday amid government shutdown
- The government shutdown is in day 17 and is now the third-longest on record