Vice President Mike Pence appears to have deleted a tweet on Thursday discussing President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The tweet, made from Pence’s personal Twitter account Thursday morning, stated that Trump shut down the U.S. economy in an attempt to stave off the viral outbreak.
“It is important to remember that President @realDonaldTrump shut down the entire American economy to put the health of America first,” Pence wrote.
It wasn’t long after that the tweet, which tagged the president’s account, was taken down without notice.
Speculation over the reason behind the removal has been widespread ever since, with many questioning if the president himself asked for the tweet to be taken down.
The tweet is also being criticized for its misleading nature. The Trump administration downplayed the virus for months and failed to respond to the issue in a timely manner.
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The president even admitted in a March interview, which was released this week, that he knew the virus was “deadly” but chose to “play it down.”
The “entire American economy” was also never shut down at any point. In fact, Trump has been vocally more concerned about the economy for months than the dangers posed by the virus.
While no information is available on why Pence’s tweet was removed, it’s possible Trump, given his obsession with economic numbers, could have reacted negatively to the remark.
Pence’s account continues to be active, even after this afternoon’s tweet was removed. The account has since shared numerous articles in which Pence asserts that Trump was open and up-front with Americans about the coronavirus.
