Mike Pence: ‘I Wasn’t Offended’ by ‘Hamilton’ Speech
Vice President-elect Mike Pence said Sunday that he “wasn’t offended” by the speech given by a cast member of the hit stage show “Hamilton” on Friday night.
In fact, the self-professed “history buff” loved the show.
Stage performer Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr in the Tony-winning show, read a statement from the cast on Friday that urged Pence (who attended the show with his daughter and her cousins) to consider those “who are alarmed and anxious” over President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration. The speech drew a critical tweet from Trump, who demanded that the stage production apologize to Pence.
Pence spoke up about the incident on Sunday’s “Face the Nation” on CBS, and sought to “assure people who were disappointed in the election results.” He told host John Dickerson that he “wasn’t offended by what was said” at the “Hamilton” show in New York on Friday.
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“People are feeling anxious about this time in the life of our nation,” said Pence. “President-elect Donald Trump meant exactly what he said on election night, that he is going to be the president of all the people of the United States of America,” he added.
Pence did not directly address the many accusations that Trump’s newly-forming administration is tinged with racist appointees, including senior advisor Steve Bannon. Nor did he acknowledge the now 700-plus hateful incidents that have been documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center since the Nov. 8 election.
But the vice president-elect further emphasized his point by saying, “I just want to reassure anyone, anyone including the actor who spoke that night that President-elect Donald Trump is going to be president of all the people and I couldn’t be more honored to stand with him.”
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Here is Pence’s full response to the “Hamilton” speech on “Face the Nation”:
“Well– well, first off, I took my daughter and her cousins to the show Friday night. And, John, if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a great show. (Laughs). I’m a history buff. And my hat’s off to the cast and– and to the extraordinary team that brought Hamilton to the public. We really enjoyed being there. And, yeah, I– I heard the remarks that were made at the end. And, you know, and — you know, what I can tell you, I wasn’t offended by what was said. I’ll leave to others whether it was the appropriate venue to say it. But– but I want to assure people who were disappointed in the election results, people are feeling anxious about this time in the life of our nation, that President-elect Donald Trump meant exactly what he said on election night, that he is going to be the president of all the people of the United States of America…And I just– I just want to reassure anyone, anyone including the actor who spoke that night that President-elect Donald Trump is going to be president of all the people and I couldn’t be more honored to stand with him.”
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