“Must never be president again”
Pence is tough on Trump
6/8/2023 1:34 am
The storming of the Capitol forces the longtime loyal Vice President to make a conscientious decision against the US President. When he entered the race for the candidacy, Mike Pence found harsh words: Trump should never move into the White House again.
Former US Vice President Mike Pence has entered the race for the 2024 presidential election with attacks on his former boss Donald Trump. In a speech to supporters in Ankeny, Iowa, the arch-conservative Republican made the ex-president partly responsible for the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 – and emphasized that Trump should not be allowed to become president again.
“On that fateful day, President Trump’s words were reckless and put my family and everyone in the Capitol at risk,” the 64-year-old said of the day of the attack on Parliament. “But the American people also deserve to know that President Trump has demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution.” Anyone who puts themselves above the Constitution should never be President of the United States, Pence said. “And anyone who asks someone else to put him above the Constitution should never again be President of the United States.”
After the 2020 presidential election, Trump asked his then deputy to prevent the confirmation of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in Congress. Pence rejected this at the time and thus drew the wrath of Trump, who had been spreading allegations of electoral fraud that had been refuted many times for weeks. As radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some of them also chanted “Hang Mike Pence.” The attack on Congress led to the split between Trump and Pence.
Entry into the presidential race
Previously, Pence had loyally served Trump as a deputy for four years. On Wednesday, he once again expressed pride in the combined government record for 2017 and 2021. “I will forever be grateful to President Trump for what he has done for our country.” The former governor of the state of Indiana also distanced himself from the 76-year-old right-wing populist and accused him, among other things, of not taking a sufficiently strict stance on abortion policy.
Pence entered the presidential race for the 2024 election early Wednesday morning with a first campaign video. “Today I announce before God and my family that I am running for President of the United States,” said the evangelical Christian. “The best days for the greatest nation in the world are yet to come.”
Many competitors use Trump
With the entry of the former Vice President, the field of candidates for the Republican presidential primaries is becoming fuller – tending to be an advantage for the favored Trump. A large field of applicants suits Trump because the votes of Republican voters who are critical of him are distributed among many rivals.
Trump gets more than 50 percent of the votes in polls for the primaries. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is in second place with around 22 percent. Pence and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley are battling for third place with between four and five percent. Other candidates include former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Senator Tim Scott, former Southern Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and pharmaceutical entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
The Republican primaries for the November 2024 presidential election begin early next year, traditionally starting in Iowa in the Midwest. The primary winner will challenge President Biden, who is running for a second term.