Trump’s vice needs a miracle
Mike Pence, charmer with iron-hard positions
By Roland Peters
6/5/2023, 7:58 p.m
The former vice president of ex-US President Trump wants to be in the White House himself. It took Pence more than two years to clearly criticize his former boss. Now he needs a little evangelical miracle.
Finally, the ex-US Vice President had just spoken in the hall and had repeatedly tried to run away from the crowd of journalists in front of the advertising wall of the conservative Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition (“Coalition Faith & Freedom”), the Republican carried out another dig. “The enthusiasm in the hall, Paul, was palpable, I was deeply moved by the warm reception,” Mike Pence whispers in the direction of the reporter: “Except for Iowa, no place in America feels like Indiana.” The questioner wanted to know if Pence saw Ron DeSantis’ cancellation as a “missed opportunity” for the competitor.
Pence’s response is part of a broader charm offensive that has been trying to position himself as a serious contender for the White House for months. Indiana is his home, for many years he was a member of Congress for the state, he was governor before he became Donald Trump running mate and won the 2016 presidential election with him. One of the keys to this was he himself: as an evangelical who conveyed even the toughest political positions gently with sacred undertones. The blustering, improvising New York Trump; the devout, conscientiously deliberative Pence as a bridge to religious voters.
In the coming year, the United States will elect a new president, and Pence will publicly announce his bid for the Republican nomination on June 7, the documents have already been filed. This gives the primary campaign through all states even more drama potential. After the first decisions in February, the field of applicants often thins out rapidly. Iowa hits his first. Trump also leads the polls there with around 50 percent, followed by Florida Governor DeSantis. Pence was last at 5 to 7 percent before the announcement.
Christian values as the basis of criticism
It seems impossible with numbers like this right now, but Iowa can change the momentum and Pence has a trump card. He’s an evangelical, and they’re the Midwest’s largest constituency in the state. Together with 18 percent Catholics, the Protestant churches make up almost 80 percent Christians of the 3.1 million inhabitants. The overwhelming majority of Republicans are believers. Anyone who convinces them of themselves will have the votes for the candidacy. That’s why the presidential candidates in Iowa have been handing each other for weeks.
During his appearances as Vice President, Pence always threw out the same half-empty phrases. While Trump fired government officials in droves, Pence was never questioned. He was the perfect party soldier, didn’t offend, if possible swallowed a lot. Until January 6, 2021, when he refused to participate in Trump’s legislative coup during the Senate electoral count.
Instead, as Senate President, Pence determined the election victory of his competitor Joe Biden as good as immovable. Trump’s supporters stormed the Congress building and yelled at Pence as a traitor, some demanding he be hanged. The Secret Service hid Pence and his family. One insurgent left a message on his desk: “It’s only a matter of time before justice comes.”
Pence describes himself as a principled conservative, but he’s not a speaker. For more than two years, Pence had dodged probing questions about January 6, 2021 while clearly seething. “With his inconsiderate statements, he endangered my family and everyone in the Capitol,” he said clearly in March: “History will hold Donald Trump accountable.” That was the harshest criticism of his former boss, based on Christian cornerstones: the protection of the family, an overriding justice that prevails in the end. A quarter of all Americans identify themselves as Evangelicals, a clear majority as Christians. In addition, Pence has conservative positions: a lean state and low taxes, far-reaching rights for religions, and above all a restrictive abortion law.
Trump no longer untouchable
The majority of evangelicals understood Trump’s presidency as a “mission from heaven.” He delivered as ordered, installing three conservative Supreme Court justices who overturned general abortion laws and remanded them to the states. They’ve been doing whatever they want ever since. It was a historic triumph for Christian conservatives made possible by Trump; a social struggle that had been waged bitterly for decades was decided. But Trump is no longer untouchable among evangelicals.
When the Republicans failed to bring Congress under their control last fall, giving Biden an unexpected electoral victory, the ex-president complained that he wasn’t to blame for the defeat, but rather the abolition of abortion rights. The issue had driven the Democrats, and especially women in the suburbs, to the polls in droves. Various evangelical leaders have since said they are yet to decide on an applicant. “That’s disloyal,” Trump complained to the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Abortion regulations and their future are the most important issues for conservative Christians, and when in doubt they base their voting behavior on them. By assigning blame, Trump indicated that he considered his own success to be more important. Distinguishing himself in Iowa, Pence said, “I’m pro-life and I’m not going to apologize for it.” Trump believes it is up to the states to regulate this, Pence says he sees it differently – and promises a national abortion law. He garnishes ironclad positions like these with conciliatory sentences, in this case: Society’s task is to protect the most vulnerable, but “not everyone in society currently shares this view”. Most Americans do not want a strict, universal ban on abortion.
Pence needs early wins in the primary, maybe even a small evangelical miracle in Iowa, or his bid will quickly collapse. “I am more certain than ever that the people of Iowa will give our party a flag-bearer who will bring us victory and lead America,” he said at the Iowa event. People everywhere reassured him that they wanted the policies of the Trump-Pence administration back: “But they also say they want a new kind of leadership that can unite the country.” Pence has until February to convince Republicans that he is that leader.