Fox News host Dana Perino prompted a debate audience to laugh at former Vice President Mike Pence.
At the second Republican presidential debate, Perino noted that Pence had failed to keep his 2016 pledge to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
Pence, however, answered with a tangent about the death penalty.
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"It is unconscionable that the Parkland shooter is actually going to spend the rest of his life behind bars in Florida," Pence said. "That's not justice. We have to mete out justice and send a message to these would-be killers that you are not going to live out your days behind bars."
"I appreciate that," Perino shot back. "But does that mean Obamacare is here to stay?"
The audience reacted with howls of laughter.
"Well, thank you for reiterating the question, because I'd love to answer it," Pence said, appearing stunned. "It's my intention to make the federal government smaller by returning to the states those resources and programs that are rightfully theirs under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution."
"That means all Obamacare funding, all housing funding, all HHS funding, all of it goes back to the states," he added. "We'll shut down the federal Department of Education."
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