CINCINNATI — Vice President Mike Pence visited Cincinnati Wednesday night for a “Make America Great Again" event in support of President Donald Trump’s re-election.
Pence landed in Cincinnati and spoke before a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 900 supporters gathered at Cincinnati Municipal Airport's Lunken Field.
#HAPPENINGNOW : @VP takes the stage at Lunken. Watch live now on @WCPO pic.twitter.com/U35c2XJToD
— Kristen Swilley (@KristenSwilley) October 21, 2020
In his remarks Wednesday, Pence said President Donald Trump's administration would prioritize manufacturing jobs and keeping unemployment low in the Buckeye State.
Some of the biggest applause of the night came for the administration’s support of law enforcement, as Pence noted Cincinnati is on track to have a record number of homicides this year.
"President Donald Trump has stood every day without apology with the men and women who serve on the thin blue line of law enforcement,” Pence said to cheers. “The men and women who serve in law enforcement are some of the best people in this country, and they deserve the respect of every American every day.”
The vice president also spoke on trade, particularly the administration's opposition to NAFTA, and Trump's promise to bring more economic prosperity to Ohio versus his Democratic challenger, former vice president Joe Biden.
"People of Ohio, we have a choice to make: I think it really is a choice between a Trump recovery and a Biden depression," Pence told supporters.
In a statement to WCPO, Biden's campaign said as president, he would "put the interests of workers and families first" with a focus on job creation and lower health care costs.
Ahead of Pence's visit, the Democratic National Committee unveiled a new billboard near the University of Cincinnati Medical Center "highlighting how Trump’s failed coronavirus response has hurt Ohio." Biden's camp also criticized Pence and Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Hundreds of thousands are out of work, more than 170,000 Ohioans have been infected by COVID-19, more than one in five small businesses have shuttered, and there’s no end in sight," the statement read. "The sad truth is it didn’t have to be this bad. Instead of uniting our country under a clear plan to get the virus under control, this administration has peddled lies and waved a white flag. Instead of making good on his promises to Ohio’s working families, President Trump turned his back on thousands of workers in Lordstown and called for a boycott of Goodyear."
But at the event Wednesday, Pence claimed 500,000 people in Ohio have gone back to work since the start of the pandemic. The vice president again promised millions of doses of a safe coronavirus vaccine before the end of the year, while his shoutout to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for his response to the pandemic prompted a mix of cheers and boos.
Pence closed his remarks urging Ohioans and Kentuckians at the Cincinnati event to vote this November to "make America great again -- again."
The visit came days after Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, visited Cincinnati on Friday to share the president’s “Make America Great Again" agenda with Ohioans. Congressman Bill Johnson of Ohio’s 6th District and Jane Timken, Chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party, also attended Wednesday's event.
Attendee Kim Parrigan said she's casting a vote for the Trump-Pence ticket because they share her values.
“I think Trump has done a lot for the economy," Parrigan said. "He’s done a lot for the economy. He’s pro-life. He stands for all the values that I stand for.”
Watch Pence's full speech in the player below:
