Ex-US Vice President
Pence contradicts Trump for the first time in clear words
Former US Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the annual meeting of the Federalist Society in Florida. Photo: Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/AP/dpa
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Former US Vice President Mike Pence has distanced himself from Donald Trump since the 2020 election. However, he has never uttered such clear words as now. What is the Republican after?
Former US Vice President Mike Pence has contradicted ex-President Donald Trump with a view to the 2020 election in clear words.
“I heard this week that President Trump said I had the right to overturn the election. President Trump is wrong, I had no right to overturn the election, »said Pence during an appearance in the US state of Florida. “Under the Constitution, I had no right to change the outcome of our election,” the Republican continued. And Vice President Kamala Harris will have no right to overturn the election result if the Republicans beat the Democrats in the 2024 presidential election.
Pence had refused to give in to Trump’s pressure to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the November 3 presidential election. Trump wanted to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory at the last minute. Pence had already declared at the time that his oath to protect the constitution did not allow him to do so. Trump has therefore approached his former deputy publicly several times. He had distanced himself from Trump in the past. However, it is the first time that he contradicts Trump with such clear words.
What are Pence’s ambitions?
In Washington, it has long been suspected that Pence himself may have ambitions to run as a Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election. Should Trump also declare his candidacy, the two would compete against each other as competitors in the internal party competition.
Vice Presidents play only a ceremonial role in officially confirming the results of the election in Congress. Trump supporters finally stormed the congressional seat in Washington on January 6 to sabotage the certification of Biden’s election victory. Trumps had previously incited his supporters with his allegations of fraud. Five people died as a result.