Mike Pence Says Republicans ‘Have Better Choices’ Than Trump
Former Vice President Mike Pence refused to commit his support to former President Donald Trump’s bid for reelection during a CNN town hall on Wednesday. Speaking with moderator Jake Tapper a day after the release of his memoir, “So Help Me God,” and Trump’s official snoozefest, Pence said Republicans will “have better choices” in the 2024 presidential race than Trump.
“I think it’s time for new leadership in this country that will bring us together around our highest ideals,” Pence said, adding the highly doubtful sentiment that Americans “want us to get back to the policies of the Trump-Pence administration.”
When pressed on whether or not he would run for president in 2024, Pence told Tapper, “I’ll keep you posted.”
The former VP was less coy when asked about Jan. 6, which he called “the most difficult day of my public life.” Trump held Pence largely responsible for the failure of his illegal attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, repeating the false claim that Pence had the power to do so.
After Tapper showed Pence footage of rioters at the Capitol chanting “hang Mike Pence” as his family fled to safety, Pence said “that day it angered me.”
“I had one higher loyalty, and that was to God and the Constitution. And that’s what set in motion the confrontation that would come to pass on January 6 because I had taken an oath to the Constitution of the United States,” Pence said of his role that day, when Trump and his allies tried to convince Pence to join an unconstitutional bid to overturn the election results.
Earlier this week on ABC, Pence accused Donald Trump of endangering “me and my family and everyone at the Capitol building,” and added that on the day of the Capitol riot, “the president’s words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem.”
When confronted with the question on why he didn’t do more to stop Trump’s dangerous spread of misinformation about the election, Pence pointed the blame elsewhere. The finger-pointing was specifically in the direction of Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and other advisors who were “telling him what his itching ears wanted to hear.”