But even as he earned the president’s praise, Pence is careful never to assume credit directly and consistently attributes anything positive to the president’s decision-making prowess. His actions are “at the president’s direction” and under “the president’s leadership.”
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/coronavirus-white-house-briefing-08-ap-jc-200407_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Alex Brandon/AP
PHOTO: Vice President Mike Pence speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, April 7, 2020, in Washington.
Beyond Pence’s diplomatic approach in giving credit to the president, Pence is himself a former governor and has particularly impressed the president with his deft touch in dealing with governors, even those who have criticized the administration’s response.
“I like people being -- Mike can put up with things that -- sometimes I say it's amazing that he can put up with it. But he's done an incredible job,” Trump has said.
Trump has expressed disdain for governors who have been publicly critical of the administration response, saying they should “be appreciative,” and has expressed particular disdain for Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, calling him a “nasty person.”
“I don't have to call because I'm probably better off not, because we don't get -- he's a failed presidential candidate. He's a nasty person,” Trump said of Inslee on March 29. ” I don't like the governor of Washington. So you know who calls? I get Mike Pence to call.” (Pence knows Inslee from when they served in the House together.)
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/coronavirus-white-house-briefing-04-gty-jc-200406_hpEmbed_3x2_384.jpg\")
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks as Vice President Mike Pence looks at the graph of the Covid-19 tests performed in the USA during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus at the White House on April 6, 2020, in Washington.
There’s a good cop-bad cop dynamic at play, according to an administration official, who said the differing styles serve to complement one another and acknowledged that the approach is not free of political calculations.
“At the end of the day, these people are still going to run on this in six to eight months,” the official said.
While the president may rant against a particular governor in public comments, the official said, if a state with a critical governor is “in need of ventilators, the federal government is going to get them the ventilators.”
When the president strikes a combative tone in public, the vice president follows up -- oftentimes in private -- with a reassuring message.
When the New York health care workers raised alarm bells last week about shortages in critical protective gear needed to protect them on the front lines in treating patients, President Trump raised questions about whether the gear was slipping out the back door.
“That statement was made that they’ve been delivering for years, 10 to 20,000 masks,” Trump said. “Okay, it’s a New York hospital. Very — it’s packed all the time. How do you go from 10 to 20, to 300,000? 10 to 20,000 masks to 300,000?”
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/coronavirus-white-house-briefing-06-gty-jc-200407_hpEmbed_3x2_384.jpg\")
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Response coordinator for White House Coronavirus Task Force Deborah Birx and Vice President Mike Pence listen during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House on April 7, 2020, in Washington.
Vice President Pence followed up several days later with a message directed at the state’s health care workers.
“Help is on the way,” Pence said on the day it was announced that the federal government was sending an additional supply of 200 thousand N95 masks to New York.
What to know about coronavirus:
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