Mike Pence keeps saying “Black lives are saved by the police every day”

• Former Vice President Mike Pence is brewing a new line on Black Lives Matter.
• “Black lives are not endangered by the police. Black lives are saved by the police every day.”
• Only about 2 in 5 Republicans viewed police violence as a serious problem, according to a recent poll.

Former Vice President Mike Pence has launched a new line for Black Lives Matter.

Pence, whom Insider recently reported had organized a presidential campaign on hold with several of his former aides still pulling federal paychecks, targeted the move during a speech in Iowa on Thursday night.

“Black lives are not endangered by the police,” Pence said. “Black lives are saved by the police every day.”

—The Hill (@thehill) July 16, 2021

Pence was talking at the Feenstra family picnic in Sioux Center.

The other time he made the remark was also in a prime state in the country for the GOP presidential primary, earning his biggest line of applause of the night from a crowd in New Hampshire in June.

Bringing the Granite State crowd to a standing ovation, Pence added that the United States “is not a racist country.”

In police shootings, black Americans are killed at a more disproportionate rate than any other racial group in the United States, about twice as many as whites on a per capita basis.

Even since the murder of George Floyd during an arrest galvanized anti-racist protests nationwide, Republicans have generally been adamant in defending the police. Much of the GOP’s backlash against Black Lives Matter is characterized by the Blue Lives Matter movement, whose flag was prominently displayed at Trump rallies.

In Iowa, Pence said police advocacy is something “we must stand up for on behalf of every American of all race, creed and color.”

According to an April poll by Morning Consult, only about 2 in 5 Republicans considered police violence a serious problem, compared to 9 in 10 Democrats.

Pence also called the notion of systemic racism a “left-wing myth” despite numerous statistics showing disparities between white Americans and their fellow citizens of color.

Although Pence has made appearances in both Iowa and New Hampshire, he has not officially declared his candidacy for the 2024 election, and his spokesperson told Insider he is simply looking to help. Republicans before the mid-terms of 2022.