Pence says Biden speech on vaccine mandates was ‘unlike anything I'd ever heard from an American president’

Appearing on “Fox & Friends” on Friday, former Vice President Mike Pence criticized President Biden’s speech on Thursday in which he called for vaccine mandates and expressed frustration at those who refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Pence said the speech was “unlike anything I'd ever heard from an American president.”

Video Transcript

MIKE PENCE: I have to tell you, the president's speech yesterday was unlike anything I'd ever heard from an American president. I mean, to have the president of the United States say that he's been patient, but his patience is wearing thin, that's not how the American people expect to be spoken to by our elected leaders. I mean, the president should simply continue, as we've done, to lead by example, encourage people to take the vaccine, as Karen and I did on national television back in December.

But to say that it's not about freedom, it's exactly about freedom. America is about freedom and the ability to make the best decision for your family, for your business. And the approach this administration is taking now, with this new surge of mandates and dictates from Washington, DC, and also with not respecting the leadership at the state level, that was central to the approach of the White House coronavirus task force. We got governors across the country what they needed when they needed it, and we respected them to make the decisions best for their state.