Mike Pence campaign bus hits truck on way to ‘cops for Trump’

Vice President Mike Pence had some hiccups Thursday in the first hour of his tour of Pennsylvania when his campaign bus got in a fender binder and then two police officers on motorcycles went down.

The campaign bus swiped a dump truck on its side, bending the vehicle’s fender. Pence had to get out of the bus and transfer to a limo. 

A Pence official called it a ‘minor fender bender.’ 

Additionally the campaign bus hit a dump truck in a ‘fender bender’ and Vice President Pence exited the bus to ride in a limo

An ambulance was on hand for the incidents; the vice president was not hurt

Vice President Pence was in route to a Cops For Trump event when the accidents occurred

The vice president was not injured in the incident, which came on the same day of news that the U.S. economy shrank by 33 per cent in the April-June quarter, the worst quarterly plunge ever.

The bus was left behind as the motorcade continued but then two motorcycle cops went down, causing another delay.

Pence got out of his vehicle to speak to one of the officers as emergency medical personnel checked the two men out. 

The vice president did not appear to be wearing a mask when speaking to the officer. An ambulance was on the scene as one usually travels in motorcade.

All this happened while Pence was in route to a ‘Cops for Trump’ rally. 

Later Thursday, Pence called all those involved in the accidents. He spoke to the truck driver from the accident with the campaign bus. He also spoke to one of the officers who was on a motorcycle in the 2nd motorcade incident, and he has left a voicemail for the second motorcycle officer, a White House official said.

The bus mishap happened in rural Allegheny County on a very sharp curve and about 10 minutes into the ride. 

Accidents are fairly common in President Donald Trump and Pence’s motorcades as the vehicles move quickly and often make sharp turns.   

Pence is campaigning in western Pennsylvania to show the Trump administration’s support for law enforcement and to shore up support in the critical battleground state.

Polls show Joe Biden leading Trump in Pennsylvania, the state where Biden was born. The presumptive Democratic nominee leads by 6 points in the RealClearPolitics average of polls.

But the Trump campaign is determined to keep Pennsylvania competitive, particularly as Trump was the first Republican presidential candidate to win the state in 20 years when he picked it up in 2016. 

Pence’s first stop is at the Greensburg Police Department for a ‘Cops for Trump’ event. Then he will tour the Guy Chemical Company in Somerset.

He thanked officers ahead of his remarks.

‘Grateful for all of the law enforcement officers who support us and help get us safely to where we are going each day. Thank you for all you do!,’ he wrote on Twitter.

Many of the supporters lined up for the ‘Cops for Trump’ event were not wearing masks, according to a video posted by Marc Lotter, a spokesman for the Trump campaign on the scene. 

There was also little social distancing among the crowd. The event took place on the same day Herman Cain died of the coronavirus. The former presidential candidate was at President Trump’s Tulsa rally where several campaign staff and Secret Service agents tested positive for the disease. Cain did not wear a mask at the rally.

Vice President Mike Pence wore a face mask when he got to his ‘Cops for Trump’ event

Pence removed his mask to speak the crowd where he touted the Trump administration’s support for police officers

Many people lined up for the Pence event did not wear face masks

Pence tweeted his thanks to law enforcement after the accident

Pence wore a mask when he exited his limo but took it off to speak to the crowd. 

He touted the administration’s support for police and criticized some liberal Democrats who have called on police departments to be defunded in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

‘We are not going to defund the police, not now, not ever,’ he said.