Vice President Mike Pence drew the ire of retired four-star General Barry McCaffrey on Saturday for lavishing praise on President Donald Trump during a coronavirus press conference in the Rose Garden the day prior.

As Trump beamed in approval, Pence laid the sucking up on thick in an apparent effort to portray Trump as some kind of hero despite his botched response to the pandemic.

“Thank you, Mr. President,” Pence said. “This day should be an inspiration for every American because thanks to your leadership from early on, not only are we bringing a whole-of-government approach to confronting the coronavirus, we’re bringing an all-of-America approach. Mr. President, from early on, you took decisive action.”

Except Trump didn’t. He knew about the coronavirus threat in November and failed to act until it was too late. He also disbanded the pandemic response team and failed to fill hundreds of open positions at the Centers for Disease Control. And as the virus spread to the United States, Trump continued to be slow to react, focusing instead on pretending it was a “hoax” and not a big deal because he didn’t want it to hurt his election. And there are still not enough coronavirus tests for everyone to get one if they need it.

Trump’s poor response and his lies about it aside, Pence once again demonstrated a pathetic sycophantic devotion to him that got the attention of McCaffrey.

Pence has got to be the most sycophantic toady in Washington, and it’s just embarrassing to the nation and the office he holds.

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