For four years, Mike Pence was Donald Trump’s relentlessly loyal vice president. It’s not at all clear if the Indiana Republican is interested in a sequel, but even if Pence wanted another such term, his former boss appears to have other ideas. The conservative Washington Examiner reported:
Former President Donald Trump is effectively ruling out tapping former Vice President Mike Pence as his running mate should he mount a third White House bid in 2024 and win the Republican nomination. “I don’t think the people would accept it,” Trump told the Washington Examiner Tuesday evening during a wide-ranging telephone interview from Mar-a-Lago, his private social club and political headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida.
“Mike and I had a great relationship except for the very important factor that took place at the end. We had a very good relationship,” the former president added. “I haven’t spoken to him in a long time.”
The fact that Trump is blaming “the people” and their attitudes is an amazingly weak position: The former president is supposed to be a leader, whom “the people” follow. To hear Trump tell it, he might consider Pence for another campaign cycle, but those darned voters just wouldn’t tolerate such a thing.
Excuses notwithstanding, the former president’s position hardly comes as a surprise. He has, after all, spent much of the last 14 months arguing that Pence should’ve ignored the law on Jan. 6, 2021, and participated in a scheme to help keep Trump in power, despite his defeat.
The fact that Pence felt compelled to follow the law made him a Trump World villain — even though the then-vice president explored ways to do the wrong thing. A book released last year from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa included a detail that’s too often overlooked:
So intent was Pence on being Trump’s loyal second-in-command — and potential successor — that he asked confidants if there were ways he could accede to Trump’s demands and avoid certifying the results of the election on Jan. 6.
In other words, as we’ve discussed, Pence didn’t want to prioritize the rule of law; he was prepared to succumb to presidential pressure; and he actively explored ways to corrupt the process. The Hoosier was prepared to do the wrong thing; he just couldn’t find a credible way to pull it off. Pence grudgingly did his duty only after concluding he didn’t have a choice.
Nevertheless, pro-Trump rioters chanted, “Hang Mike Pence” on Jan. 6 during the insurrectionist attack on the Capitol.
When ABC News’ Jonathan Karl asked Trump about those chants last year, Trump suggested the rioters’ rhetoric was understandable. The reporter went so far as to remind the former president that the “Hang Mike Pence” chants were “terrible.” Trump, unmoved, replied, “Well, the people were very angry.”
Karl added, “They were saying, ‘Hang Mike Pence.’” Trump, instead of condemning those who threatened his own vice president with violence, responded, “Because it’s common sense, Jon.” With this in mind, it’s hardly shocking that the Republican is eyeing a new running mate for his expected next race. The better question is whether Pence would even want such a role. The answer is, probably not. In fact, the former vice president has spent recent months sending not-so-subtle rhetorical shots across Trump’s bow. This is not a relationship that will likely be repaired. When someone incites a riot that puts you in harm’s way, and then defends the rioters while ignoring your wellbeing, a renewed partnership isn’t going to happen.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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