Fox News’ Dana Perino called out former Vice President Mike Pence after he tried to skirt a question about Obamacare during Wednesday’s debate.
Pence said recently that he would repeal Obamacare mandates. Perino called him out on his promise, noting he and former President Donald Trump made a similar campaign promise in 2016 but did not deliver.
“Obamacare right now, it is more popular than ever. Why should Americans trust you if you become president to fix that or is Obamacare here to stay?” Perino asked.
Pence first tried to skirt the question by talking about mass shootings and calling for a faster implementation of the death penalty. (RELATED: Health Insurance Costs Expected To See Highest Increase In Over A Decade)
“I appreciate that but does that mean Obamacare is here to stay?” Perino asked, with her question met by a round of applause.
Pence looked visibly anxious, taking a second to figure out what to say.
“Well thank you for reiterating the question because I’d love to answer it. Look, I think it’s one of the choices here. My former running mate, Donald Trump, actually has a plan to start to consolidate more power in Washington, D.C., consolidate more power in the executive Branch. When I’m president of the United States, it’s my intention to make the federal government smaller by returning to the states those resources and programs that are rightfully theirs under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution,” Pence said.
“That means all Obamacare funding, all housing funding, all HHS funding, all of it goes back to the states. We’ll shut down the federal Department of Education. We’ll allow states to innovate. We’re going to revive federalism in America and states are going to help bring America back.”
“I’m not sure we got an answer on Obamacare’s state,” Perino said before switching to other candidates.