Mike Pence Distances From Trump, Prepares For A 2024 Presidential Run

By Nikki Slusher

Former Vice President Mike Pence spent four years in the shadow of Donald Trump during what was undoubtedly one of the most tumultuous presidencies in modern U.S. history. A loyal confidante to the former president, Pence stood by his side when most became turncoats after falling out with Trump and being heavily berated by him (usually on Twitter).

Pence’s allegiance never faltered no matter what his orange counterpart did. He remained on the ballot after the controversial Access Hollywood tape was made public. Even after 25,000 proven, fact-checked lies and a turbulent pandemic response to COVID-19, Pence was still there. One may even say Pence was one of the only members of the Trump administration who made it out unscathed until the final weeks of his presidency; something that is actually an impressive feat in all honesty. It wasn’t until Pence refused to reject the electoral college votes of six states that the duo’s relationship completely unraveled, yet even then the former VP refused to enact the 25th Amendment to remove Trump after the Jan. 6th attack on Capitol Hill.

Since then Donald Trump has lambasted Pence over and over again, both publicly and privately, after Pence’s non-compliance in his illicit attempt to remain in the Oval Office. It wasn’t until recently that Pence has noticeably begun distancing himself from the fiasco that currently resides in Mar-A-Lago. So what sparked this change of heart? The answer is actually quite simple – Pence is planning his 2024 presidential run.

Over the past couple of months, Pence has taken a more vocal stance against his former boss. He stated Trump was “wrong” to claim that Pence had the power to overturn the 2020 election results. Furthermore, Pence has impelled that Republicans move on from Trump’s election grievances and publicly avowed that “there is no room in this party for apologists” for Vladimir Putin following Trump’s praises of the Russian leader’s guiled maneuver in the Ukrainian invasion as “genius.” The former congressman and Indiana governor’s decision to shed the Trump sycophant image seems to be his way of carving out his new political identity.

The decision to do so brings great risk to Pence’s political aspirations considering the Republican party is still dominated by the lies over the 2020 election being stolen, and a CBS News poll from February shows that about seven out of ten Republicans say Trump should run for president again in 2024, or about 69 percent of polled GOP voters. When asked if they support Trump’s recent statement that he would pardon all those involved in the Jan. 6th Capitol riot, six out of ten Republicans said they would support such pardons which places them distinctly at odds with the rest of the country.

Televangelist Rev. Franklin Graham believes Pence’s metamorphosis is an intrinsic one. “People are seeing the real Mike Pence. As vice president, you have to toe the line of the president and you have to be in step with everything the president says…people are seeing who he is and what he’s standing for and what he says. So it’s not repeating what the president says. It’s saying what he believes. … He’s speaking for himself now and not President Trump,” Graham said.

Over the last several months, Pence has spent his time traveling across the country including trips to early-voting states, giving speeches on various policies and issues, helping GOP candidates fundraise, and is also currently working on two books. Per U.S. News reports, Pence is expected to return to Iowa and will be making two-visits to South Carolina in the upcoming months; the former holds the initial presidential nomination contest and the latter being another early-voting state. He also manages to squeeze in dinner with top donors.

Advancing American Freedom, which is Pence’s political action group, also recently announced a $10 million ad campaign that will be aimed against Democrats. The group’s objective includes urging them to support proliferating American energy production as part of a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, he is devising the release of his new “Freedom Agenda” which focuses on providing candidates with an efficacious policy outline that illustrates to voters what Republicans are both in favor of and against.

It is unclear when we can expect a confirmation on Pence’s decision to run for president in 2024. Trump has also not yet formally announced that he is running again either, or if the two will rekindle their bromance and run on the same ticket again. Earlier this month, Trump told the Washington Examiner in an interview that, “Mike and I had a great relationship except for the very important factor that took place at the end. I haven’t spoken to him in a long time.”

So there we have it folks. The GOP ticket in 2024 will most likely be between a former radio host and former reality TV star. We really are getting the best and brightest these days.