Donald Trump has been dealt a major blow following Mike Pence’s recent announcement about the upcoming election.
Pence has said that he will not be endorsing Trump, despite being his Vice President just four years ago.
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“It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year,” Pence revealed during an interview on Fox News Channel on Friday. This is the first time he’s spoken out since Trump became the likely GOP nominee.
Pence had previously run against Trump for their party’s nomination but withdrew before voting started last year.
Pence’s decision makes him the latest in a line of senior officials from the Trump administration who have chosen not to back their former boss’s attempt to return to the Oval Office. While many Republican members of Congress and other GOP officials have largely supported Trump, a small but vocal group continues to oppose his bid.
This also marks a significant change for Pence, who was once seen as one of Trump’s most loyal supporters but split with his two-time running mate by refusing to support Trump’s unconstitutional plan to stay in power after losing the 2020 election.
On January 6, 2021, when Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, Pence was forced to escape to a Senate loading dock while rioters outside chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!”
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To take part in the Republican primary debates, Pence had to sign a pledge promising to back the party’s eventual nominee. During the first debate in Milwaukee, Pence was among those who raised their hands when asked if they would support Trump even if he were found guilty in one of his four criminal indictments.
However, Pence had expressed serious doubts about Trump’s actions and policies. “I believe anyone that puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United States again,” he said during his campaign launch speech.
As the campaign went on, he voiced concerns about the party’s reluctance to send aid to Ukraine and urged his fellow Republicans to reject what he termed the “siren song of populism” championed by Trump and his supporters.
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In an interview on Fox’s “The Story with Martha MacCallum,” Pence said he was “incredibly proud” of his and Trump’s record in office, but added, “During my presidential campaign I made it clear that there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues, and not just our difference on my Constitutional duties that I exercised on January the 6th.”
“I mean, as I have watched his candidacy unfold, I’ve seen him walking away from our commitment to confronting the national debt. I’ve seen him starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life,” he said, also mentioning Trump’s change of heart on being tough on China and supporting the sale of TikTok.
“In each of these cases, Donald Trump is going after an agenda that doesn’t match the conservative one we had when we were in charge. And that’s why I can’t back Donald Trump in this campaign,” he explained.
Pence wouldn’t say who he’s going to vote for – “I’m going to keep my vote to myself,” he stated – but he was clear it won’t be Biden. “I would never vote for Joe Biden,” he declared.
“I’m a Republican.”
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