Former US Vice President Mike Pence Says He ‘Cannot In Good Conscience’ Endorse Trump
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday said he “cannot in good conscience” endorse presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, a stunning repudiation of his former running mate and the president he served with.
“Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years. That’s why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign,” Pence said on Fox News.
After suspending his campaign for president in October, the ex-vice president refrained from endorsing any candidate in the 2024 Republican primary. However, he had previously pledged his support for the eventual GOP nominee.
Trump had said after Pence dropped out that his former vice president should endorse him, saying, “I chose him, made him vice president. But … people in politics can be very disloyal.”
While he said he is “incredibly proud” of the record of the Trump-Pence administration, Pence argued that the former president has walked away from conservative issues, pointing to Trump’s stance on abortion and the US national debt and his reversal on TikTok.
“During my presidential campaign, I made it clear there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues. And not just our difference on my constitutional duties that I exercised January 6th,” Pence said on “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”
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“As I have watched his candidacy unfold, I’ve seen him walking away from our commitment to confronting the national debt. I’ve seen him starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life.
“And in the past week, he changed his stance on taking a firm approach towards China and backing our government’s endeavors to compel ByteDance’s TikTok to be sold,” he further remarked.
Pence did not reveal who he’ll vote for in the 2024 general election, saying that he’ll keep “my vote to myself.” He, however, said he would “never vote” for President Joe Biden. Pence also suggested that he would not back a third-party candidate.
Pence diverged from his superior by choosing not to challenge the 2020 election outcome while presiding over Congress’ formal certification of Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021.
Pence later said Trump’s “reckless words” that day, when a mob of Trump supporters violently breached the US Capitol, “endangered” his family and others at the US Capitol.
In his presidential campaign last year, Pence warned Republicans of the “siren song of populism” from Trump and his imitators.
Pence and his organization, Advancing American Freedom, recently declared their commitment of $20 million toward promoting conservative agendas.
Former US Vice President Mike Pence Says He ‘Cannot In Good Conscience’ Endorse Trump