Amid widening protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin, Pence and other Republicans at their national convention described the Nov. 3 contest between Trump and Biden as a choice between "law and order" and lawlessness.

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"The hard truth is you won't be safe in Joe Biden's America," Pence told the crowd seated on a lawn at historic Fort McHenry in Baltimore.

Pence added that a vote for President Trump is also a vote for law and order worldwide. Stating that this administration has "Stood up to our enemies and we've stood with our allies. Like when President Trump kept his word and moved the American embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Israel, setting the stage for the first Arab country to recognize Israel in 26 years."

Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, Trump joined Pence on stage after the speech as the crowd chanted: "Four more years."

Police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shot Blake, 29, multiple times in the back at close range on Sunday, reigniting protests against racism and police brutality that erupted across the United States earlier in the year.

During a third night of unrest on Tuesday, three people were shot, two fatally. The state's lieutenant governor said the white teenager arrested on homicide charges was apparently a militia member who sought to kill innocent protesters.

Ahead of Pence's speech, Trump said he would send federal law enforcement to Kenosha by agreement with the state's governor.

"Let me be clear: the violence must stop – whether in Minneapolis, Portland, or Kenosha," said Pence, who did not mention Blake. "We will have law and order on the streets of this country for every American of every race and creed and color."

Biden said earlier he had spoken with Blake's family on Wednesday and, like the family, also called for an end to the violence. But unlike Trump, who has yet to publicly comment on the police shooting, Biden called for justice and defended the right to protest.

"Protesting brutality is a right and absolutely necessary, but burning down communities is not protest. It's needless violence," Biden said in a video posted by his campaign.

Pence repeated the unfounded charge that Biden supports liberal activist calls to "defund" the police. Biden rejects that approach and has promised instead to invest $300 million in grants to hire more diverse officers and train them to develop better relationships with communities.

Trump has intensified his "law and order" campaign theme as polls have shown voters give him poor grades for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 179,000 Americans.

During this week's convention, Republican speakers have tried to shore up Trump's slumping support among women, Black voters, and immigrants - groups that opinion polls show have been alienated by his divisive style.

On Wednesday, several speakers highlighted his support for women - part of a broader effort to portray Trump as caring and supportive of colleagues, family, and even strangers.

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, who announced earlier this week she would step down at the end of the month to spend time with her children, said Trump had given her an influential role in his 2016 campaign and at the White House.

"A woman in a leadership role can still seem novel. Not so for President Trump. For decades, he has elevated women to senior positions in business and in government. He confides in and consults us, respects our opinions, and insists that we are on equal footing with the men," Conway said.

Pence spoke at the Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Maryland – a federal facility that is the site of the battle during the War of 1812 that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner."

A former Indiana governor and congressman and a conservative Christian, Pence has served as a key connector between Trump and evangelical voters, an influential part of the Republican political base.

Pence sought to reshape the narrative around the economy, casting the millions of jobs lost to the pandemic as a temporary setback. Despite lagging behind Biden in opinion polls, Trump gets higher marks as a steward of the economy than his Democratic rival does.

"Last week, Joe Biden said 'no miracle is coming.' What Joe doesn't seem to understand is that America is a nation of miracles, and we're on track to have the world's first safe, effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year," Pence said.

Trump and other administration officials have predicted a vaccine could be ready by the end of the year, but some experts are skeptical the trials, which must study potential side effects on different types of people, can be completed so soon.

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At their own party convention last week, Biden and his running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris of California, warned another four years in the White House for Trump would lead to chaos and threaten democracy.

Pence cast the choice in similar terms from the other side.

He accused Biden, the former vice president under Barack Obama and a centrist who defeated an array of more progressive candidates for the Democratic nomination, of being a stalking horse for the radical left.

"Last week, Joe Biden said democracy is on the ballot, and the truth is our economic recovery is on the ballot, law and order are on the ballot," he said. "But so are things far more fundamental and foundational to our country. The choice in this election is whether America remains America."

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The event could even draw other world leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron.

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There are ongoing talks between American and Israeli officials about Pence being the senior American representative since President Donald Trump will be in Europe for the World Economic Forum.

The ceremony is scheduled to be held on Jan. 27, organized by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial organization.

Earlier this year, Pence visited in Auschwitz and was deeply affected by that experience.

"I traveled in our delegation with people who had family members who had been at Auschwitz — some had survived, some not. But to walk with them and think that two generations ago their forebears came there in box carts and that we would arrive in a motorcade in a free Poland and a Europe restored to freedom from tyranny is an extraordinary experience for us, and I'll carry it with me the rest of our lives," Pence said during his visit.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS

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Asked if the goal was to have the plan out this year, the White House official told reporters in Jerusalem: "My hope would be yes."

"It'll come out both when it's ready and when both sides are actually willing to engage on it," the official said.

The statement was echoed Tuesday by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who said Tuesday the timing of a U.S. Middle East peace initiative depended on the return of Palestinians to negotiations.

President Donald Trump's advisers have been working on the outlines of a plan for some time. But Palestinians have ruled out Washington as a peace broker after the U.S. president's Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"The White House has been working with our partners in the region to see if we can develop a framework for peace," Pence said on the last leg of a three-day Middle East trip. "It all just depends now on when the Palestinians are going to come back to the table."

Trump's Jerusalem move angered the Palestinians, sparked protests in the Middle East and raised concern among Western countries that it could further destabilize the region. Palestinians see east Jerusalem as capital of a future state.

Pence said in the interview that he and the president believed the decision, under which the United States also plans to move its embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, would improve peacemaking prospects.

A White House official acknowledged Tuesday that the United States and the Palestinian leadership had not had any direct diplomatic contact since Trump's Jerusalem declaration.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official at the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the Trump administration had dealt a death blow to any prospect for peace.

"The extremist positions of this U.S. administration and the biblical messianic message of Pence not only disqualified the U.S. as a peace broker but created conditions of volatility and instability in the region and beyond," Ashrawi said.

Pence discussed the Jerusalem issue during talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Saturday and Jordan's King Abdullah on Sunday. He said the two leaders had agreed to convey to the Palestinians that the United States was eager to resume peace talks.

"We want them [the Palestinians] to know the door is open. We understand they're unhappy with that decision but the president wanted me to convey our willingness and desire to be a part of the peace process going forward," Pence said.

Asked if the Egyptians and Jordanians had agreed to pressure the Palestinians to return to talks, Pence said: "I wouldn't characterize it as that."

Following his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pence said he admired Netanyahu's leadership and appreciated his friendship.

Asked if he hoped for the prime minister's re-election, Pence said: "I'm a strong supporter of Benjamin Netanyahu, but I don't get a vote here."

The vice president also pressed European leaders to heed Trump's call to forge a follow-up agreement to the Iran nuclear deal established under President Barack Obama's administration.

"At the end of the day, this is going to be a moment where the European community has to decide whether they want to go forward with the United States or whether they want to stay in this deeply flawed deal with Iran," he said.

Asked if he thought the United States would succeed in getting that kind of agreement with its European allies, Pence said: "We'll see."

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