the work of project hero and organizations like this that are coming alongside men and women who have served in the uniform of the united states or in your case in the uniform of law enforcement to give comfort and strength to those who are healing from those unseen wounds. project hero really proves that anything is possible for those that believe in one another and are willing to be there for one another. i also want to thank secretary shulkin for his efforts to finally give veterans of the united states the healthcare they ve earned and deserve in uniform. [applause] . i m pleased to report to you that just last month president trump signed an executive order to ensure the department of veterans affairs is effective and accountable and the president also signed into law the veterans choice improvement
you make this place better for you being here today. and you honor us all. [applause] it is memorial day 2017. their duty was to serve, our duty is to remember. and i want to thank project hero and john and all the organizers who are here that have marked this day in particular for this ride as a part of the ongoing tribute. we ll be joining the president in just a few moments at arlington national cemetery to lay a wreath, say a prayer and remember our fallen. you will be engaged in a more energetic activity. and karen and i have to tell you, we re just a little bit jealous because we re bikers. [applause] we are. and we d love to ride with you. now we can make that happen.
for glory but for country. molly: vice president mike pence kicking off the annual project hero memorial day bike ride paying tribute to those who wore the uniform and keeping us safe. kristin fisher is live at the white house with that. president trump is back at the white house after that trip, to arlington national cemetery. publicly, the focus is as it should be, all about honoring our men and women who lost their lives defending this country. but behind the scenes, the controversy surrounding president trump s son-in-law is really sucking a loft oxygen at the white house. president trump is defending jared kushner against the allegations, that he allegedly tried to set up a secret backchannel to communicate with the kremlin during the transition. president trump telling the new york times last night that, quote, i have total confidence in him. he is respected by virtually everyone and working on programs that will save our country billions of dollars n addition
especially the first five miles that are all downhill. that s what i heard. but you go with our prayers and you go with our thanks. all the sponsors of project hero and all that s brought all of you here today. let me say to all of you, it s the greatest privilege of my life to be vice president, to a president who cares so deeply about the men and women of our armed forces and the veterans of the united states, president donald trump. [applause] you know, the president just returned from an extraordinary trip in europe where he met with world leaders, but he punctuated that trip meeting with troops in italy and he said it now falls to us the prove worthy of their sacrifice. and that s our ongoing challenge as americans, isn t
our hearts go out with that tight knit family as well. ed: vice president mike pence about to speak at project hero memorial day bike ride coming up. it s an annual tradition at the vice president s official mansion, the naval observatory in washington a mile or so from the white house. you can see bikers getting ready to start the big bike ride. this is a tradition for the vice president, the president we mentioned, president trump will be heading over to arlington cemetery shortly at 11:00 a.m. eastern time that we ll hear from the president. in the meantime the vice president as well about to weigh in. heather: a lot of ceremonies going on not only in our nation s capital but across the country today as we remember our military members and as we were mentioning earlier folks saying that it s unfortunate that we can t do this throughout the year and take time out to remember the lives lost, remember the military members who are still serving