VP pool report #4 — Remarks end + rolling

The VP spoke for 31 minutes then took questions from the press. The pool was forced to move out at 12:43, while the VP was still answering a question about a recent ICE shooting in Maine, which he said he didn't want to pre-judge as an investigation plays out.

We are rolling at 12:49.

As always, please check quotes against the live video.

The VP began by shouting out Maine Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles and GOP Sen. Susan Collins, neither of whom were in attendance.

He said Collins had been to his house about a half-dozen times. He joked that she makes his job as president of the Senate harder sometimes, but called Collins his "very independent friend."

Vance joked that SLOTUS had told him he could either be vice president or have a fourth child. "Ladies and gentlemen, I must be pretty persuasive, because I got both," he said.

"We want companies that buy American, that hire American and that invest in American communities."

The VP called Maine's Democratic leadership a "group of jokesters" and repeatedly called on the crowd to support Paul LePage, the former governor and GOP nominee for Congress in Maine's 2^nd Congressional District, where Brewer is located. He slammed LePage's Democratic opponent Matt Dunlap, claiming he had increased fraud in the state.

Asked about the trade war with Canada, Vance said he was “very conscious” of the trade between Maine and Canada but wanted to ensure that Maine gets a “fair deal.” He said Canada applies “ridiculous tariffs and non-tariff duties” on Maine and said “we’re sick of that.” At one point, he called Canada a “state,” which he said was a “Freudian slip.”

He said Canada allows itself to be "used as a backdoor for Chinese goods" and slammed Canada for coming in with "unreasonable, last minute demands," causing negotiations to fall apart. He said he wanted to send a message to Canadian Prime Ministwr Mark Carney to "stop taking advantage of America."

Irie Sentner (he/him)

Reporter, POLITICO Playbook

+1 (970) 507-0995 | [email protected] | @iriesentner

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