Vice President Mike Pence Visiting Two San Diego Navy Bases

Speaker 1: 00:00 Vice President Mike Pence is in San Diego. He and his wife Karen arrived in town last night to begin a tour of military sites and attend a fundraiser. Pence is not scheduled to visit the border. The vice president will be speaking this hour aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Monroe at the naval air station in Coronado and that's about a major seizure of illegal drugs. KPBS reporter Matt Hoffman is also onboard the Monroe and he joins us now. And Matt, welcome. Speaker 2: 00:29 Hi Maureen. Speaker 1: 00:30 Now, what is the vice president expected to do and talk about while he's on the Monroe? Speaker 2: 00:36 Yes, so the vice president is expected to speak sometime around 1230 this afternoon here at naval air station North Island. Basically the coast guard along with a bunch of other federal agencies are offloading more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine and marijuana that was seized in the eastern Pacific. And now a lot of this I've been told is, are happening around near Florida. It's unclear of what exactly pence will be speaking about. Uh, we do have a hint though. A coastguard news release did mentioned that the ongoing about the ongoing fight against the drug cartels in the eastern Pacific, which he may touch on Speaker 1: 01:05 now. Is this the vice president's first visit to San Diego since taking office? Speaker 2: 01:10 Yeah, this, this will be the vice president's first visit since he and President Donald Trump did, did take office. Uh, he wasn't Calexico though. Uh, last year, uh, near the border, speaking about, uh, immigration issues Speaker 1: 01:22 and says visit here in San Diego is part of a statewide tour. Talk to us a little bit about that. Speaker 2: 01:29 Yeah, he's been in California for a couple of days. He was in Lamar, California yesterday for a Trump, a reelection campaign event. Then he visited a farm talking about the U S Mexico Canada trade agreement and how it's a good deal for American workers on Twitter. He's calling this visit Hashtag us mc nowaday and we actually have some tape of what he said there yesterday. Speaker 3: 01:48 But I wanted to come here to California here in the San Joaquin Valley because you all understand the global impact of our agricultural economy and the need to have a trade deal here with our neighbors to the north and the south. That really puts American agriculture first and that's exactly what we've done. Speaker 1: 02:05 Okay. So, uh, the vice president has stayed at the Hilton Bay Front Hotel last night and, uh, that baby Trump balloon was inflated in front of the hotel this morning. Is Penson countering any protests that you know about in Coronado? Speaker 2: 02:21 Yeah, Morgan. So right now we are pretty deep inside the naval base. There's no civilians who are allowed in, in this area. Um, we are by the water. I don't see any boats in the water with the protesters or anything. Uh, we had to arrive here pretty early and we got here around eight o'clock and there wasn't anybody outside protesting with any signs. Uh, I'm not exactly sure right now if there's anybody near the front of the naval base. Uh, but there's really no indication. I don't think that, uh, the, uh, vice president is going to be speaking here. So I don't know if there's any right now, there weren't any this morning. Speaker 1: 02:48 Okay. So where else is the pen going to visit where he, when he, while he's here in San Diego? Speaker 2: 02:55 Yeah, he's going to obviously tour, uh, this, uh, US Coast Guard cutter here at Naval Air Station, North Island. And then after this, uh, there's a campaign event, uh, that he's going to be speaking at a reelection campaign event for him and Donald Trump. That's going to be some time later this evening. And then he's actually going to be, uh, on a plane heading to Texas. Speaker 1: 03:14 Have there been any questions raised about why pence is not visiting the US Mexico border while he's here? Speaker 2: 03:21 Yeah, so the vice president is not scheduled to visit the US Mexico border while he's here in San Diego, but part of his three day trip, he's actually visiting, obviously California, and then he's heading to Texas. He's going to be tomorrow, he said on Twitter, uh, visiting the border down in Texas, uh, potentially some of these migrant detention facilities. Uh, I haven't heard any criticism, um, of why that is. We may have a chance to ask the vice president, um, after he speaks today, why he, why he's not visiting the border down here, but he is scheduled to visit a border, uh, tomorrow in Texas. Speaker 1: 03:51 Okay. So San Diego Anne's might encounter a motorcade on the roads today as the vice president goes from one point to another. When is he leaving town? Do we know? Speaker 2: 04:02 You know, it's unclear exactly when he's leaving town. I know he, like I said, he will be in Texas tomorrow. I don't know if that means that his flight is, uh, is, is leaving later this evening or if it's leaving tomorrow morning. Uh, but you're right, he will be on the roads. He is going to be going to a campaign fundraiser and obviously, yes, I get his meals, so he, he'll definitely be on the road. Uh, so if you see it, take some photos. Speaker 1: 04:24 I'm in speaking with KPBS reporter Matt Hoffman. Thank you so much. Thanks, Maureen. Speaker 4: 04:34 Uh.