On February 26th, Vice President Mike Pence was selected by President Trump to lead the government’s coronavirus response team. This naturally made him an important figure to study as well as the controversies linked to this choice and Pence’s public health record. Having no medical experience or expertise, Pence came under scrutiny for his handling of an HIV outbreak that occurred in Indiana during his time as governor. This paired with his lack of medical credibility makes him important to examine given our goal to see the disparity of information between political and medical officials.
Briefing 1, Feb. 27th, 2020
The first of Pence’s briefings illustrates the language used towards the end of February. Using these data points, one can conclude that the general language at the time indicated the low threat of the coronavirus to the american public’s health. In looking at the trends image, there is a striking spike in frequency of the word “threat” but it is paired with “low”. In the links image, threat connects directly to “well-being” and “american” as well as “diseases”, while “low” corresponds to “potential”. “Dangerous” appearance in the trends is not very noticeable, and in the links, it ties to low.
Briefing 2, Feb. 29th, 2020
This second briefing maintains the same tone as the first, and there is emphasis placed on health as a priority and a fixed part of the conversation. The links visualizations shows some actions are being taken, and reiterates that officials are working to protect Americans health. In the trends visualization, threat is frequent in the beginning, but drops out of the briefing by the end. The words risk and low appear together towards the end of the statement as Pence ends his briefing with the reassurance that the situation is not yet dire. The news of the first reported American death due to COVID-19 is not reflected in Pence’s language, which is important for one to note; Pence defends that the risk is low but already people are beginning to die.
Briefing 3, March 3rd, 2020
This third briefing carries much of the same tone as the first two; there is a focus on health, and the supposed threat remains low. However, the word testing occurs and the links visualization reflects that tests are available and that officials are able to begin administering them, and Pence states that progress is being made. We find it worth attention that Pence flaunts the testing progress but up to this date the administration has been criticized for not distributing enough tests at an appropriate speed.
