#Pence attends Dallas rally, talks coronavirus’ ‘dangerous turn’ with Gov. Abbott

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Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Southern Baptist Church
AP

Vice President Mike Pence spoke before more than 2,000 people at an indoor rally in downtown Dallas on Sunday, then met with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who warned that the coronavirus had taken a “very swift and very dangerous turn” in the state.

Pence was wearing a mask when he arrived at the “Celebrate Freedom Rally” at the First Baptist Church, which can hold around 3,000 people, CNN said.

There were roughly 2,200 people in attendance at the mask-optional event, the outlet said. At least 50 percent of the crowd was in masks, according to a pool report.

“Working with your governor, we will put the health of the people of the Lone Star state first, and every single day, we will continue to reclaim our freedom and our way of life, as each day we are one day closer to the day we put this pandemic past, and when we do, with this governor and this president, we will bring Texas and America bigger and better than ever before,” Pence said, according to CNN.

Pence later met with Abbott, a Republican, as he urged everyone to wear a face mask.

“President Trump wanted us to be here today with the developments over the last two weeks with the rising positivity and the rising number of cases with a very simple message, and that is to [tell the] people of Texas: ‘We’re with you,’ ” Pence said, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Texas has become a hot spot for the coronavirus, with at least 143,371 reported cases and nearly 2,400 related deaths.