Pence Visit to Alexandria Kicks Off Late Night TV Kerfuffle

A hot mic incident kicked off a storm of lampooning followed by an equally swift backlash when it was shown that the original video was taken out of context.

Yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence visited Alexandria to drop off supplies for the Woodbine Rehabilitative and Health Center, a senior care facility where there have been positive COVID-19 cases among residents and staff.

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel shared edited footage of the visit implying that the boxes being dropped off at the facility were empty, when in truth the boxes comments were made about boxes still in the van that were not unloaded. Kimmel lampooned the clip on his late-night show as an embodiment of the Trump administration, but later took the clip down and made a clarification on Twitter.

it would appear that @vp was joking about carrying empty boxes for a staged publicity stunt. The full video reveals that he was carrying full boxes for a staged publicity stunt. My apologies. I know how dearly this administration values truth. https://t.co/hI9cO4lxcX

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 8, 2020

Pence was criticized on Twitter for not wearing a mask on his visit, and today news broke that his press secretary tested positive for the virus.

The visit drew criticism from Democrats even before the back and forth over the empty boxes. The Biden Campaign dismissed the visit as an empty photo opportunity and Rep Don Beyer (D) said the scandal isn’t about the boxes, but about the facilities across the country that are still without personal protective equipment.

This IS a scandal.

The scandal isn't empty boxes, it's that nursing homes and healthcare centers across the US badly needed PPE for months as thousands died, and didn't get it.

Yesterday Mike Pence came here to Alexandria to proudly tout the "first delivery" of PPE. Too late. https://t.co/Vooc8icAuJ

— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) May 8, 2020

Image via C-SPAN