2016 Vice-Presidential Debate: on Homeland Security


Mike Pence: Bar Syrian refugees so ISIS cannot infiltrate America

KAINE: Mike Pence put a program in place to keep refugees out if they're from Syria. And yesterday an appellate court with three Republican judges struck down the Pence plan and said it was discriminatory.

PENCE: Right. Those judges said it was because there wasn't any evidence yet that ISIS had infiltrated the United States. Well, Germany just arrested three Syrian refugees that were connected to ISIS.

KAINE: But they told you there's a right way and a wrong way to do it.

PENCE: Look, if you're going to be critical of me on that, that's fair game. I will tell you, after two Syrian refugees were involved in the attack in Paris that is called Paris' 9/11, as governor of the state of Indiana, I have no higher priority than the safety and security of the people of my state. So you bet I suspended that program. And I stand by that decision. And if I'm vice president of the United States or Donald Trump is president, we're going to put the safety and security of the American people first.

Source: 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University Oct 4, 2016

Mike Pence: Rebuild military and project American strength in the world

Hillary Clinton's top priority when she became secretary of state was the Russian reset. After the Russian reset, the Russians invaded Ukraine and took over Crimea. And the small and bullying leader of Russia is now dictating terms to the US [in Syria]. Look, we have got to begin to lean into this with strong, broad-shouldered American leadership.

I just have to tell you that the provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength. It begins by rebuilding our military. And the Russians & the Chinese have been making enormous investments in the military. We have the smallest Navy since 1916. We have the lowest number of troops since the end of the Second World War. We've got to work with Congress, and Donald Trump will, to rebuild our military & project American strength in the world. We've just got to have American strength on the world stage. When Donald Trump becomes president, the Russians and other countries in the world will know they're dealing with a strong American president.

Source: 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University Oct 4, 2016

Mike Pence: Bar Syrian refugees so ISIS cannot infiltrate America

KAINE: Mike Pence put a program in place to keep refugees out if they're from Syria. And yesterday an appellate court with three Republican judges struck down the Pence plan and said it was discriminatory.

PENCE: Right. Those judges said it was because there wasn't any evidence yet that ISIS had infiltrated the United States. Well, Germany just arrested three Syrian refugees that were connected to ISIS.

KAINE: But they told you there's a right way and a wrong way to do it.

PENCE: Look, if you're going to be critical of me on that, that's fair game. I will tell you, after two Syrian refugees were involved in the attack in Paris that is called Paris' 9/11, as governor of the state of Indiana, I have no higher priority than the safety and security of the people of my state. So you bet I suspended that program. And I stand by that decision. And if I'm vice president of the United States or Donald Trump is president, we're going to put the safety and security of the American people first.

Source: 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University Oct 4, 2016

Mike Pence: Rebuild military and project American strength in the world

Hillary Clinton's top priority when she became secretary of state was the Russian reset. After the Russian reset, the Russians invaded Ukraine and took over Crimea. And the small and bullying leader of Russia is now dictating terms to the US [in Syria]. Look, we have got to begin to lean into this with strong, broad-shouldered American leadership.

I just have to tell you that the provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength. It begins by rebuilding our military. And the Russians & the Chinese have been making enormous investments in the military. We have the smallest Navy since 1916. We have the lowest number of troops since the end of the Second World War. We've got to work with Congress, and Donald Trump will, to rebuild our military & project American strength in the world. We've just got to have American strength on the world stage. When Donald Trump becomes president, the Russians and other countries in the world will know they're dealing with a strong American president.

Source: 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University Oct 4, 2016

Tim Kaine: Clinton has an actual plan to beat terrorism; Trump doesn't

To beat terrorism, there's only one candidate who can do it, and it's Clinton. She's got a plan to do it. She was part of the national security team that wiped out bin Laden. Here's her plan to defeat ISIL. First, we've got to keep taking out their leaders on the battlefield. She was part of the team that got bin Laden, and she'll lead the team that will get Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of ISIS. We've got to disrupt financing networks; third, disrupt their ability to recruit on the Internet, in their safe havens. We also have to work with allies to share and surge intelligence. That's the Clinton plan; she's got the experience to do it. Trump can't start a Twitter war with Miss Universe without shooting himself in the foot. Trump doesn't have a plan. He said, "I have a secret plan," and then he said, "Um, I know more than all the generals about ISIL." And then he said, "I'm going to call the generals to help me figure out a plan." And finally he said, "I'm going to fire all the generals."
Source: 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University Oct 4, 2016

Tim Kaine: Reagan warned about fools & maniacs with nuclear weapons

Let me tell you what will really make the Middle East dangerous. Donald Trump's idea that more nations should get nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea. Ronald Reagan said something about nuclear proliferation in the 1980s. He said the problem is that some fool or maniac could trigger a catastrophic event. I think that's who Governor Pence's running mate is, exactly who Governor Reagan warned us about.
Source: 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University Oct 4, 2016

Tim Kaine: Terrorism threat is down due to killing Osama and Iran deal

Q: Do you think the world today is a safer or more dangerous place than it was eight years ago? A: The terrorist threat has decreased in some ways, because bin Laden is dead. The terrorist threat has decreased in some ways because an Iranian nuclear weapons program has been stopped. The terrorist threat to US troops has been decreased in some ways because there's not 175,000 in a dangerous part of the world. There's only 15,000. But there are other parts of the world that are challenging.
Source: 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University Oct 4, 2016

  • The above quotations are from Vice-Presidential Debate, Oct. 4, 2016, moderated by Elaine Quijano of CBS News.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Homeland Security.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Mike Pence on Homeland Security.
  • Click here for more quotes by Tim Kaine on Homeland Security.
2016 Presidential contenders on Homeland Security:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI)
Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Dec 09, 2018