Mike Pence defends immigration detention conditions in toe-curlingly awkward interview

As more reports surface about the horrendous conditions at the US southern border, CNN's Jake Tapper took the opportunity to absolutely grill Mike Pence in a pretty awkward interview.

Speaking about a viral video showing a Trump administration attorney arguing against the provision of basic human hygiene products to children in detention centres, Tapper asked the vice president: "Aren't toothbrushes and blankets and medicine basic conditions for kids, aren't they part how the United State of American, the Trump administration, treats children?"

Looking uncomfortable, Pence replied:

Well, of course, they are, Jake. I can't speak to what that lawyer was saying but that was one of the reasons we were asking for more bed space when we were negotiating with Congress during the government shutdown.

And Democrats in Congress refused to expand the bed space and the capacity for us to detain people at our borders.

The vice president continued by blaming the Democrats for not cooperating with Trump and sitting down to talk about the immigration crisis and real border solutions.

Pence also called on Congress to provide more resources at the border and "get to the root problems and loopholes, human traffickers are, as we speak, trying to entice vulnerable families to go north".

This wasn't the only awkward interview Pence did over the weekend, appearing on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday, where he was also pushed on the topic by host Margaret Brennan. When she asked if he had not read about the horrible conditions, Pence responded:

I was at the detention center in Nogales, just a few months ago, it was a heartbreaking scene, being exploited by human traffickers to charge them $5,000 a person to entice them to take their vulnerable children and take the long and dangerous journey north.

Watch the full clip here:

HT Newsweek

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