Donald Trump called on his former vice president Mike Pence to endorse him Saturday hours after his once loyal lieutenant bowed out of the 2024 Republican presidential race.
“Everyone who went seemed to support me,” Trump said at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual summit in Las Vegas, Nevada Sunday.
“I don’t know about Mike Pence. He should support me. He should support me. You know why? Because I had a successful presidency and he was vice president. He should support me. I elected him, made him vice president, but people in politics can be very disloyal.”
The two clashed in the final weeks of their administration after Trump urged Pence not to certify the results of his losing 2020 election, which he continued to falsely insist was fraudulent.
Ahead of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots, Trump and his allies launched a pressure campaign to get Pence to reject the electoral college vote as part of a strategy to keep the then-president in power even if he loses the election.
He refused to do so, arguing that he had no constitutional authority and has stood by the decision ever since.
Shortly before the deadly riots, Trump had posted on social media that Pence “didn’t have the guts to do what was supposed to be done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”
Pence was removed from the Senate floor with lawmakers as a group of angry Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to block congressional confirmation, some of them chanting the death penalty for the vice president.
Several violent mobs stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 chanting “hang Mike Pence” after Trump said he “doesn’t have the guts” to help him overturn the 2020 election. EPA
“President Trump’s words are reckless. They are endangering my family and everyone in the Capitol. But the American people deserve to know that on that day, president Trump also demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution,” Pence later reflected.
“Now, voters will be faced with the same choice: I chose the Constitution and I always will.”
The former vice president said he would exit the 2024 arena early Saturday at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual summit, an announcement that surprised supporters.
When I interviewed Trump for “Treason” and asked him about his supporters chanting “Hang Mike Pence”, he didn’t condemn them, he defended them. Here is a clip from the interview. More audio from the truly shocking interview will be posted on Sunday @ThisWeekABC pic.twitter.com/MlnhTgw8Cu
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) November 12, 2021
During his speech, Pence referred to the main mantra of his 2024 campaign by emphasizing the difference between populism and conservatism.
“It became clear to me that this is not my time,” Pence said during his speech. “I will leave this campaign but let me promise you that I will not leave the fight for conservative values.”
Pence has been the fifth-highest polling contender nationally in the RealClearPolitics aggregate. But he struggled to find donors and was reportedly strapped for cash.
The former president pressured Mike Pence unsuccessfully to help him challenge the 2020 election results. AP On Jan. 6, 2021, Mike Pence refused to help ‘rigg’ the election, cementing Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat.Getty Images
He even threatened to not show up to the third GOP debate on November 8. Pence launched his campaign in June on his birthday.
Nevada holds its caucuses on February 8 and will be the third Republican presidential nomination contest.
Trump is the clear leader, with a 46.5 percentage point advantage over his nearest rival according to the latest RCP poll aggregate.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
