ORLANDO, Fla. – Moments after landing in Orlando Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence made his first public comments about the New York Times opinion piece by an anonymous White House official before making the rounds at several campaign events for Florida Republicans.
Air Force Two touched down at Orlando International Airport at 11:35 a.m. The vice president was greeted on the ground by Florida Republican governor candidate Ron DeSantis and Miami state Rep. Jeanette Nuñez. DeSantis announced Thursday that he had selected Nuñez as his running mate.
Pence spoke to reporters briefly before leaving the airport about his endorsement for DeSantis and also addressed the damning New York Times opinion piece by an anonymous senior White House official, calling it a "new low" in American journalism.
[Watch Pence's full comments in the video player at the top of this story.]
"The New York Times should be ashamed," Pence said. "The person who wrote it should be ashamed and resign."
The opinion piece described a "resistance" to President Donald Trump within the administration that works overtime to protect the U.S. from the president's worst impulses.
The vice president said the goal of the opinion piece was to further the "liberal agenda."
Pence is in Florida to help Gov. Rick Scott in his run for the U.S. Senate. Scott is challenging incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson for the seat.
The vice president and Scott will be at a luncheon together in Orlando, and later Thursday the two Republicans will be go to The Villages for a political dinner reception.
The event in The Villages is closed to the media.