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Mike Pence as Chief of the Coronavirus Task Force

Calvin Trillin

March 17, 2020

Vice President Mike Pence attends a press conference, August 15, 2017.(AP Photo / Natacha Pisarenko)

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The president believed that it made sense To put Mike Pence in charge of our defense Against this quickly spreading worldwide threat To public health—perhaps the worst threat yet. Could it be wise, some asked, to place reliance On someone with a strong disdain for science? At least, Mike Pence supporters say, he’s trying To modify his boss’s blatant lying.

Calvin TrillinCalvin Trillin is The Nation’s “deadline poet.”


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