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In an interview on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence thinks Black Lives Matter is a “radical-left agenda.”
According to the Republican, this is why he will not say “Black lives matter.”
READ MORE: Mike Pence repeatedly refuses to acknowledge ‘Black lives matter’ in TV interview
Axios reports that 67% of Americans are willing to support Black Lives Matter, especially after the death of George Floyd by the hands of police officers. Yet, it appears that the VP opposes what many believe is necessary.
More data suggests that U.S. citizens, in general, believe that the organization is essential to help the country achieve its goals of unity.
The Pew Research Center notes that two-thirds of Americans stand behind BLM mission statement, and of that group, 38% support their efforts strongly.
Still, Pence is firm on his views and validates them by using Black civil rights heroes.
“All my life, I’ve been inspired by the example of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Pence told CBS’ John Dickerson. “When I was in Congress, I traveled to his home church in Montgomery with Congressman John Lewis. I walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday.”
He continued, “I cherish the progress that we have made toward a more perfect union for African Americans throughout our history. And I’ve aspired throughout my career to be a part of that ongoing work. It’s really a heart issue for me.”
“And as a pro-life American, I also believe that all life matters, born and unborn. But what I see in the leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement is a political agenda of the radical left that would defund the police, that would.”
This is not the first time Pence has refused to say that Black lives matter.
READ MORE: Sacramento Kings announcer resigns over ‘All Lives Matter’ comment
In an interview with Philadelphia’s 6ABC Action News that took place on Juneteenth, Pence has promoted the idea that “all lives matter.”
‘All lives matter’: @VP Mike Pence talks about #BlackLivesMatter with @6abc’s @briantaff6abc.
FULL INTERVIEW⤵️https://t.co/tJfihMRwio pic.twitter.com/gcO6C3rLOs— Brandon Longo (@brandonlongo) June 20, 2020
“Let me just say that what happened to George Floyd was a tragedy,” Pence said, acknowledging he knows why Black lives matter.
“And in this nation, especially on Juneteenth, we celebrate the fact that from the founding of this nation we’ve cherished the ideal that all, all of us are created equal, and endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. And so all lives matter in a very real sense.”
While it seems like support for the phrase, Black Lives Matter, is divided down party and racial lines, there are some white Republicans who are clear that support of the movement does not divest from his value as a white man.
READ MORE: Utah man yelling ‘All Lives Matter’ aims bow and arrow at protestors
Matt Fogal is a Republican District Attorney in Central Pennsylvania.
He released the following statement a few weeks ago: “Black Lives Matter. Period. Full stop. I confess, when I first heard the phrase, my immediate reaction was that ‘All Lives Matter.’ I was wrong and part of the problem.”
He is not the only one, but more need to be informed. As a nation, there is still work to do.
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