Mike Pence in CBS "Face the Nation" interviews during 2018

On Budget & Economy: Great Recession tax-&-spend policy led to weak recovery

(VIDEOTAPE) OBAMA: By the time I left office, household income was near its all-time high, and the uninsured rate had hit an all-time low, and wages were rising, and poverty rates were falling. I mention all this just so when you hear how great the economy is doing right now, let's just remember when this recovery started.

PENCE: This country was struggling. I mean, it was the weakest economic recovery since the Great Depression because having inherited a recession, President Obama's answer was to raise taxes, to double the national debt, to increase regulation, to pass Obamacare into law, to stifle American energy.

Q: But he says the economic upswing began on his watch.

PENCE: He said that but I don't think too many Americans noticed it.

On War & Peace: Progress toward denuclearization & peace on Korean Peninsula

PENCE: We're making progress restoring American strength in the world, seeing the opportunity for peace emerge on the Korean Peninsula. We're expecting a letter from Kim Jong-un communicating his reaffirmation of his commitment to denuclearization. No more nuclear tests. No more missile tests. Our hostages are home. That's all the result of the President's leadership.

Q: But the Secretary of State called off his visit?

PENCE: The President canceled the meeting a week ago because he wasn't seeing enough progress in denuclearization that that may well have resulted in what Kim Jong-un communicated to a South Korean envoy just last week, and we're anticipating the letter from Kim Jong-un and all the while our sanctions remain in place.