The US President has announced Pence will lead the administration’s approach to the spread of COVID-19 during a press conference this week, saying: “He’s got a certain talent for this.”
Bur the Vice President Pence has faced criticism in the past over his handling of an HIV outbreak in late 2014 in rural Indiana while he was the state’s governor.
Cases of HIV had shot up in one county because of rates of drug use but for over two months, Pence refused to approve a clean needle exchange to help slow the crisis – it was against the law to possess a syringe in Indiana and Pence opposed needle exchanges as he thought they encouraged drug use.
A study in 2016 found the scale of the outbreak could have been avoided.
The response to this latest appointment on social media was mixed.
“Welp, we had a good run y’all,” one commenter wrote.
The Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus has also faced some disapproval.
The President has downplayed the threat of the illness to the US while focusing heavily on the economy even as new cases outside of China surpassed those inside the country.
During a visit to India this week, he tweeted: “The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
What will Trump do if Wall Street takes a serious dive, though?
