[Bolduan:] As the first possible case of community spread of coronavirus is found in the United States, President Trump has appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead the coronavirus task force. And now with that in mind, the vice president's track record on public health issues is under scrutiny and being questioned. CNN's senior political analyst, John Avlon, joins me now. He's looking into this. John, one of the things folks are looking into now that they might not have known about is that Mike Pence doesn't have a good track record when it comes to health crises. The worst outbreak of HIV in the history of my home state, Indiana, happened under his watch. What exactly happened? Explain to folks?
[John Avlon, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] So you have to go all the way back to his Indiana governorship. Scott County, the Planned Parenthood was shut down, the only place where folks for HIV testing. It was shut down, in part, because Mike Pence was governor. You had an outbreak of HIV because of people shooting up drugs, and Mike Pence didn't want to take the advice of the federal government and health experts that there should be a needle exchange. As a result, the number of infections basically quadrupled. Some studies said it was about the worst response you could have. Prayer didn't work. Other aspects of things didn't work. What really worked was once they finally conceded you need to get on the ground. So public health is a tricky thing when your politics are done through the filter of social conservatism or religion.
[Bolduan:] Needle exchange programs have been proven effective
[Avlon:] Correct.
[Bolduan:] over and over again.
[Avlon:] And I understand why they're unpalatable to conservatives. But public health requires something more than playing to the base.
[Bolduan:] That's an interesting point. So what then I didn't know about this one. Mike Pence in a commentary he wrote about smoking, what are we talking about?
[Avlon:] Mike Pence, a former radio guy, he always likes these short, pithy columns. He wrote one that didn't age terribly well from when he was a member of Congress. Saying, in part, "Despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn't kill. In fact, two out of every three smokers don't die from a smoking-related illness. And nine out of 10 smokers do not contract lung cancer." Now, he's quick to say, to be sure, that smoking isn't good for you. But his attempt to give sort of an anti-P.C. reality check by saying smoking doesn't kill, well, that hasn't aged too well because it's wrong.
[Bolduan:] When was that done? 2000?
[Avlon:] Yes, this was when he was in Congress, 2000, 2001.
[Bolduan:] So it was not
[Avlon:] Old enough to know better.
[Bolduan:] If we can, we can all be honest that this isn't just about Mike Pence. The administration has there have been examples of the administration where they have not taken the advice or expert advice of scientists in their own administration. We have seen that time and time again.
[Avlon:] Yes. It's a consistent theme. This administration has a war on science, often for political reasons. It is really gutted expertise. And particularly on the issue of public health. President Obama put together a special task force on the National Security Council to deal with these kinds of pandemics when it looked like Ebola was coming to our shores. That group of folks has been summarily dismissed. There was an anti-science perspective related, of course, to climate change issue where climate change denial has been part of public policy. And cuts, including the CDC, cutting 84 percent of its budget to deal with foreign pandemics before they begin, including pulling folks out of China. So I think this is part of a legacy they have created, and now they have a responsibility. Those two things are in conflict. That means we're vulnerable in a way we didn't need to be, and now they have to play catch-up.
[Bolduan:] Can I just say, when it comes to Mike Pence leading this, so far he just got the gig, if you will. We haven't seen that Pence is resisting guidance from CDC experts
[Avlon:] No.
[Bolduan:] or other medical health experts in the administration that are advising them. But this clearly just shows that this is something folks are going to closely, closely watch.
[Avlon:] And they should because this is a responsibility of the government. However, it appears to have been news that to Health and Human Services secretary, that he wasn't going to take the lead. Now this is on the vice president's plate. He has to show he puts public health over anything resembling political consideration.
[Bolduan:] Thank you for coming in, John.
[Avlon:] Thanks.
[Bolduan:] I really appreciate it. We'll be right back.