Aviation pioneer and West Virginia native Chuck Yeager was honored Friday as “one of the greatest heroes in American history” by friends, family and dignitaries.
Eric Douglas
/
WVPB
Vice President Mike Pence speaking at a memorial service for General Chuck Yeager in Charleston, West Virginia on January 15, 2021.
“Chuck Yeager got into the cockpit of the Glamorous Glennis and became the first human being ever to break the sound barrier,” Vice President Mike Pence said. “At just 24 years of age, Chuck Yeager became an inspiration to an entire generation of American pilots.”
Born in Myra, West Virginia on Feb. 13, 1923, Yeager learned to fly in the U.S. Army Air Corps. After World War II he became a test pilot.
On Oct. 14, 1947, Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 airplane, paving the way for manned space flight. His role was immortalized in the book and the film, “The Right Stuff.”
Dignitaries and public figures including Apollo astronauts Charlie Duke and Frank Borman, along with Barbara Eden and the Oak Ridge Boys, honored Yeager in a series of recorded messages.
On the stage, Yeager’s wife Victoria Yeager pointed to an empty chair and paraphrased something she remembers her husband once said.
“This chair may seem empty, but it’s not,” she said. “It’s full of memories. And don’t any of you ever forget, don’t let your children forget, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren on down the line, know who this man was and all that he has done.”
Yeager was 97 years old when he died at his home in California on Dec. 7, 2020.
The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump extremists has thrown Congress into turmoil. Many are asking what to do about the president who encouraged the acts of the rioters who attacked the capitol building.
Mary Beth Beller is an associate professor of political science at Marshall University. Reporter Eric Douglas spoke with her to get some perspective on what brought us to this situation and what will happen moving forward.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Douglas: The attack last Wednesday on the U.S. Capitol was disturbing for most of America. I’m sure you were glued to the TV like most of us. What were your thoughts?
Beller: I think there are a couple of things that we need to take into very serious consideration. The first is that all of us, as Americans, have a very cherished right to protest against our government to petition for redress of grievances. It is right there in the Constitution. It’s a First Amendment right. And I think it must be respected at all times. That the second thing is, this protest was about trying to overturn an election that had been certified in all 50 states. It was a legal process in all 50 states. What began as a protest against something that had legally occurred, crossed the line and became an act of insurrection, which is illegal.
Douglas: Where do we go from here? We’ve heard a lot of discussion about the 25th Amendment or another impeachment. I understand the concerns, but do you really think that either one of those will have time to take place?
Beller: I don’t think it is possible that we’re going to invoke section four of the 25th Amendment because that rests on the president being incapacitated. That incapacity relies on a doctor’s evaluation. So that may not be possible. What could be possible is impeachment and the speaker (of the House of Representatives) has said that she’s prepared to start on that. It is also possible that the Senate and the House could vote to censure the president for starting an insurrection.
Douglas: The thought has crossed my mind that we would have a Nixonesque 11th-hour resignation when facing another impeachment. I wonder if that’s not more likely than running the impeachment through the full process.
Beller: President Donald Trump has said quite firmly that he will not resign. And President Nixon, for all of his faults, did respect institutions. He did not want to have the stain on his presidency, or the presidency as an office, of having impeachment. For a long time, it’s been speculated that President Trump would resign the day before he left office so that then-President Mike Pence could pardon him. Whether that is in the works, or whether a President Pence would actually do that is something that remains to be seen.
Douglas: There seems to be a real break since Wednesday between the vice president and the president. If that had been a possibility a few months ago, the likelihood of something like that happening seems to be much reduced.
Beller: Vice President Pence was a member of Congress. He respects the institution of Congress. He was fulfilling his constitutional duty on Wednesday. It has to be noted that he has a different regard for constitutional processes than President Trump does. The other thing we need to take into consideration is that Mike Pence, as Vice President, may have a political life left, and he needs to assess what’s going to be in his political interest going forward.
Douglas: What haven’t we talked about? What have we missed?
Beller: We have missed the elephant in the room and that is that we have thousands of Americans who do not possess the ability to discern fact from fiction. These people truly believe that there was a stolen election. Even in the face of the facts that show that there was no stolen election.
Douglas: Fifteen or 20 years ago, we would hear about people being radicalized online. This was all in reference to ISIS or al-Qaida, but it seems like we’re facing exactly the same thing.
Beller: We have failed in civics education. None of this should require a sophisticated degree. All Americans should know how they can get involved in the political process. Everybody should know it’s a right of every American to be able to do so. And it has been through social media, but also through a lot of networks that call themselves news. People don’t have the ability to discern between news and propaganda.
Vice President Mike Pence has used a stop in West Virginia to boast about border security, the economy and conservative judges and plug the state’s GOP congressional delegation and lend support to the Republican nominee seeking to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.
Pence criticized Manchin, saying he has opposed President Donald Trump’s initiatives, but said the administration has delivered new jobs and low unemployment anyway.
In video from the event Thursday shown on WOWK-TV’s website, Pence said Manchin’s opponent, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, defends coal miners and energy producers and supports the Second Amendment.
The Intelligencer said the event in Wheeling was sponsored by America First Policies.
Pence was next going to a private fundraiser for Morrisey’s campaign sponsored by Murray Energy CEO and President Robert E. Murray.
Original Post:
Vice President Mike Pence is making a stop in West Virginia to speak at a public event and later attend a private fundraiser.
The Intelligencer in Wheeling said America First Policies is sponsoring the free public event, where Pence is to speak following a panel discussion on the federal tax overhaul. The event is being held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Oglebay Park’s Wilson Lodge in Wheeling.
State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey will speak after the discussion and introduce Gov. Jim Justice. America First Policies spokeswoman Erin Montgomery said Justice will then introduce Pence. Pence also is expected at a private fundraiser for Morrisey’s U.S. Senate campaign sponsored by Murray Energy CEO and President Robert E. Murray.
Vice President Mike Pence paid a visit Wednesday to a truck dealership in West Virginia, touting the tax cuts enacted by the Republican-controlled Congress while slamming the state’s Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who voted against the plan.
Manchin faces re-election this year. Pence praised Republican Rep. Evan Jenkins, who attended the speech, for voting for the tax bill. Jenkins is running for Manchin’s seat.
“People of the Mountain State, you deserve to know, when it came to cutting your taxes, Joe voted no,” Pence told employees of Worldwide Equipment Inc. “Joe voted no to giving working families more of your hard-earned money. Joe voted no on tax cuts for job creators.”
“But it’s not just the tax cuts. Sen. Joe Manchin has voted no time and again on the policies that West Virginia needs,” Pence added. He cited the Democrat’s votes against defunding Planned Parenthood and repealing former President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, as well as his stated opposition to building a wall along the border with Mexico.
“Folks, Joe is just going to keep voting against West Virginia,” Pence said. “But West Virginia needs to let him know.”
Manchin responded with a statement saying, “The Vice President’s comments are exactly why Washington Sucks.”
“I am shocked that after the Vice President worked for almost a year in a divisive and partisan way to take healthcare away from almost 200,000 West Virginians, bankrupt our hospitals, and push tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and huge corporations that he would come to West Virginia and continue his partisan attacks,” Manchin said. He noted that President Donald Trump called for “unity and bipartisanship” in his State of the Union speech Tuesday.
Pence, speaking from a podium in a garage at Worldwide Equipment, said cuts in taxes and federal regulations prompted CEO Terry Dotson to give bonuses to all the company’s 1,100 employees and move ahead with plans for a new dealership in Charleston, South Carolina.
The $300 bonuses were paid in December when the tax bill was signed, Dotson said. The biggest benefit in the bill was the cut in the corporate income tax rate, he said, which went from 35 to 21 percent.
Vice President Mike Pence made several stops in West Virginia Saturday, March 25, including the West Virginia state Capitol and Foster Supply Company in Scott Depot, where he spoke to an audience of about 200 small business owners and their families.
Pence’s speech was far-reaching, touching on subjects from jobs to infrastructure to energy. But perhaps the most amount of time was spent reassuring West Virginians that Trump has not given up on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.
“West Virginians and President Trump we all know the truth about this failed law that every day Obamacare survives is another day American suffers,” he said. “That’s why the President worked tirelessly over the last couple weeks to get Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare.”
Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Supporters listen to Mike Pence speak outside the WV Capitol building
Pence said he was inspired by Trump’s determination and commitment to keep his promise to the American people and that the President and he are grateful for speaker Paul Ryan and all the House Republicans who stood with them in their efforts to begin the end of Obamacare.
Pence said the failure of the GOP bill was due to a lack of support from House Democrats and a handful of Republicans “actually standing in the way of President Trump’s plan.” Now, he said, they’re back to the drawing board.
“Yesterday wasn’t a victory for the American people, it was a victory for the status quo in Washington DC and a victory for the disaster of Obamacare. But I promise you, that victory won’t last very long. The American people want Obamacare gone and as the President said today ‘don’t worry America.’ ”
Pence referred to a tweet Trump put out earlier Saturday morning, which said “Obamacare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!”
Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Vice President Mike Pence talks to supporters outside the West Virginia Capitol building
After addressing small business leaders, Pence headed over to the West Virginia Capitol Complex to speak to about 50 people.
“I’m just hoping he’ll talk about jobs, talk about the future of America, tax reform and that kind of thing,” said Putnam County native Caleb Turner before the crowd began a “We Love Pence” chant.
“Thanks to the landslide here in West Virginia, now we have a President in Donald Trump who’s going to cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses and family farms, we’re going to roll back regulations that are killing jobs and the war on coal is over because Trump digs coal,” Pence said.
He then spoke again about health care in America.
“Even though Congress is not ready to do it yet, President Trump will not rest, will not relent until we repeal and replace Obamacare,” Pence said.
Until then, he continued, the administration will move forward. Pence said their next agenda item is to get back to the President’s ultimate goal of creating jobs.
The West Virginia Democratic Party slammed Pence’s visit in a news release, saying the ACA has benefited Mountain State immensely and that Trump’s proposed budget would cut needed programs. However, attendees to the VP’s events were overwhelming supportive for the GOP administration.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.
On Friday Jan. 20, West Virginia Public Broadcasting will offer special coverage of all the events surrounding the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump including the parade, Trump’s speech, the oath of office, the counter protests and the Inaugural balls – complete with insights and analysis from reporters in the field.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting will provide extensive coverage on our statewide TV and Radio networks, and online at wvpublic.org. (Coverage begins at 10 a.m. EST. on radio and 11 a.m. on television.)
SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE VIDEO AND ANNOTATIONS
On TV – The West Virginia Channel will air PBS NewsHour’s special inauguration coverage from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. The special broadcast will be anchored by managing editor Judy Woodruff, with NewsHour correspondents John Yang reporting from the steps of the U.S. Capitol and Lisa Desjardins from the National Mall. NewsHour’s livestream will include the swearing in of the 45th President of the United States Donald J. Trump and the 48th Vice President of the United States Mike Pence on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, the Inaugural Address and Parade, and the arrival of President-elect Trump at the White House.
NewsHour’s broadcast coverage will live stream on Twitter globally at inauguration.twitter.com and @NewsHour and will be available to both Twitter’s logged-in and logged out audience. The broadcast can also be watched starting at 11 a.m. on the West Virginia Channel.
On Radio – NPR’s Audie Cornish and Steve Inskeep will co-host live coverage along with NPR Politics reporters from the U.S. Capitol from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. EST.
Later, tune into All Things Consideredwhere host Ari Shapiro will interview Trump supporters as they pilgrimage to the nation’s capital. Shapiro will ride along with a group of thirteen students as they travel from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia to the inaugural parade in Washington, D.C.
Online – NPR’s politics team will be live annotating Trump’s speech starting at noon, with help from reporters and editors who cover national security, immigration, business, foreign policy and more. Portions of the speech with added analysis are highlighted, followed by context and footnotes from NPR reporters and editors.
