Vice President Mike Pence returned to New England on Wednesday for a campaign rally in New Hampshire after visiting Maine earlier this week.
With less than two weeks until Election Day, Pence held a rally at Port City Air in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was scheduled to speak in Ohio later Wednesday evening.
During his stop in New Hampshire, Pence praised President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
"President Trump's decision to suspend all travel to China saved untold lives," the vice president said. "We reinvented testing, and saw to the manufacture and distribution of billions in supplies."
The latest poll shows President Trump down by 10 points in the Granite State, but Pence never mentioned that or showed concern over Trump’s ability to win on Nov. 3.
Like many supporters at the rally, Portsmouth resident Amber Nickel doesn’t believe the polls.
"It is confusing when you get on social media and you see rallies where there’s thousands or hundreds of people who are showing up, but the polls indicate otherwise," she said.
Pence also said the U.S. is "just a matter of weeks away" from having the first safe and effective coronavirus vaccine with "tens of millions of does" available, though health officials have given less optimistic predictions.
"That's what leadership looks like," Pence said.
Pence only briefly touched on the pandemic, and said Trump had saved hundreds of thousands of lives, even as states around the country report some of the highest spikes in cases since July.
The vice president ended with this plea to New Hampshire voters.
“The first thing I need you to do, is vote New Hampshire, vote to reelect President Donald Trump to the White House,” he said.
Pence's New Hampshire stop came just two days after he campaigned in northern Maine on Monday, seeking to sway voters in the swing state.
"It's on, Maine," he said at a "Make America Great Again" rally in Hermon. "It's time. We've got 15 days to go, and northern Maine looms large. You were there for this president and our team in 2016, and we know northern Maine's going to be there again."
Both Maine and New Hampshire are considered swing states, and the Trump-Pence campaign is working to swing as many of those in their favor as possible as Nov. 3 rapidly approaches.
During his hour-long speech Monday, Pence criticized Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, calling him "a cheerleader for China." He also slammed Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris for what he called her "radical agenda."
"Men and women across Maine, look, we have a choice to make when it comes to this economy in the days ahead," the vice president said. "As our nation is recovering from the worst pandemic in years, who do you think is going to bring this economy back: a career politician who spent 47 years in Washington, D.C., or do you trust a proven job creator who will keep cutting taxes, rolling back regulations and fighting for American jobs every single day?"
Pence also urged the Senate to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court and railed against the possibility of Biden "packing the court" if he is elected.
