The Break
We figured it would have to come at some point, and apparently the concept of “sooner than later” applied…I’m talking about the break between former Vice President Mike Pence and former President Donald Trump.
It’s no secret that the two were reading from the same script for the first 45 months of the Trump-Pence Administration…Trump firmly in charge, Pence as the loyal second-in-command and potential successor.
Then the election happened in November of 2020, and the split began. Pence was strangely quiet during the conversations about the propriety of the election results. Then came January 6, where Pence carried out his Constitutional role in the Electoral College count the way he interpreted it…which was contrary from the view Trump took. Basic on public comments this week, both men are holding fast to the positions they took then.
Trump is a declared candidate for president, Pence is testing the waters…which was probably the reason for his remarks recently, indicating that Trump’s words tied to the Electoral College vote put him and his family in harm’s way.
They came at the D.C. Gridiron Dinner before an audience of Beltway journalists and their guests. Pence said, “President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election, and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
No spinning that. And if Pence wants to run against Trump, he needs to highlight that separation.
The problem with Pence is that he has no natural constituency. The Trump folks aren’t going to go for him, especially with the January 6 declaration. Others won’t go for him because he was part of the Trump team. He has already had to defend his conservative credentials dating back to his time as governor of Indiana on issues such as abortion.
I give him full credit for having convictions and standing by them, publicly and privately. But as for a run for president in 2024, especially with Trump in the field…that might be a tough sell for GOP voters.
