"I haven't spoken to him in a long time.Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday sharply rebuked former President Trump for suggesting he had the ability to overturn the results of the 2020 election, calling the idea “un-American.” We had a very good relationship," Trump added. "Mike and I had a great relationship except for the very important factor that took place at the end. "I don't think the people would accept it," Trump told the Washington Examiner in March. One possibility the world can rule out for sure is another Trump-Pence ticket in 2024, as the former president has already drawn a line under the partnership. And even if he declined a third tilt at the presidency, this would not clear Pence's path to the Oval Office.Ī May 9 YouGov poll on potential Republican nominees for 2024 had Trump way out in front with 55 percent, as the surveys usually do.īut Florida Governor Ron De Santis came in second with 26 percent, while Pence trailed a distant third with seven percent. Trump, of course, has not yet committed to running again either. ![]() Pence hasn't actually thrown his hat in the ring yet and wouldn't likely do so for months, even if he decided to take the plunge.īut more than once he has declined to rule out running in 2024, even if Trump is in the race, telling reporters he and wife Karen are praying on the issue and "will go where we're called."Īnd he has spent much of the last year touring early-nominating states such as Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire to reinforce his political vision as a "Christian, conservative, Republican - in that order." ![]() he's a traitor because he should have stopped the elections." "Good luck with that," scoffed another local Trumpist, 66-year-old Jan Sheffield. "He didn't stand up for Trump when the time came," said Helen Allen, 50, from the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, dismissing the prospect of a President Pence. Whether Pence can successfully distance himself from Trump while peeling off the ex-president's loyal base remains to be seen.īut the runes were not encouraging in Georgia, where followers of the former commander-in-chief were picketing the Kemp rally to promote Trump's fictions of a stolen 2020 election and show their distaste for Pence's apostasy. Trump has refrained from nicknaming his erstwhile deputy - but expect that to change.Īhead of the Kemp rally, Trump unleashed his spokesman Taylor Budowich to tell The New York Times that Pence was "desperate to chase his lost relevance" and had been heading for obscurity "before he was plucked up and his political career was salvaged" in 2016. Just ask his 2016 primary opponents "Lyin'" Ted Cruz, "Low Energy" Jeb Bush or "Liddle Marco" Rubio. Pence's swing from deference to defiance is uncharacteristically bold given Trump's record of swatting away fellow Republicans with memorable sobriquets that often stick. ![]() ![]() You know, frankly, Democrats have moved so fast, sometimes I don't think the left hand knows what the far-left hand is doing." "It has eroded our standing in the world and stifled the American economy. "In a little more than a year - think about it - the Biden-Harris administration has unleashed a tidal wave of left-wing policies," Pence told the crowd, sounding distinctly like a man looking toward the next election. On Monday, Pence made his most emphatic break yet with the ex-president when he headlined a rally for Trump foe Brian Kemp on the eve of the Georgia governor's landslide victory over a Trump-backed primary challenger. It has been a torrid sabbatical for the 62-year-old evangelical Christian, who became a pariah in Trumpworld after rejecting the Republican leader's demands that he overturn the 2020 election in his role as president of the Senate.īerated constantly by Trump after Joe Biden's victory - and even heckled with chants of "traitor!" at a conservative conference in Florida - Pence continued to praise his assailant in public.īut more recently he has begun to push back, saying Trump was "wrong" to insist vice presidents could overturn elections and emphasizing his differences with Trump on issues ranging from the handling of Russian leader Vladimir Putin to abortion rights. The former vice president has begun setting aside years of unswervingly loyalty to Donald Trump and is showing a newly defiant, independent side as he looks increasingly likely to mount a challenge for the White House. Sixteen months after the US Capitol was sacked by a pro-Trump mob chanting "hang Mike Pence," the target of its fury is making nice with the Republican right - and hinting at a bid to rival his old boss for the 2024 presidential nomination.
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