Pence hits Pennsylvania to talk comeback

WASHINGTON — It’s time to spread the good news. That’s the difficult job Vice President Mike Pence undertook Friday as the Trump administration works to make voters feel better about the direction of the country amid a coronavirus pandemic and racial unrest.

Pence traveled Friday to Pennsylvania, an important swing state with 20 electoral votes that will be bitterly contested. He began with a listening session with faith and community leaders to hear their concerns following the death of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. He later talked up the economy at a manufacturing plant.

Pence stressed the same points that President Donald Trump has made, but with a bit more realism. While Trump told those in Dallas on Thursday that bringing Americans together will “go quickly” and “very easily,” Pence spoke in Pittsburgh about finding opportunities “in the long term” to address what he described as some historic inequities.

Pence’s visit comes at a time when polls suggest that a growing percentage of Americans view the country as heading in the wrong direction. The president’s prospects for reelection rely greatly on turning that trend around. Trump seized on a better-than-expected jobs report released last week, and his campaign quickly made an ad proclaiming “the great American comeback has begun.”

But he can’t just focus on the economy. The administration also must address the concerns raised by the recent killings of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmad Aubery.

Pence’s trip to Pennsylvania was part of what is described as the “Great American Comeback Tour.” The visit was organized by America First Policies, a nonprofit associated with the America First Action super PAC supporting Trump’s reelection.