US policy
Former US Vice President Mike Pence wants to go to the White House
Mike Pence speaks during an event in the White House Rose Garden. photo
© Evan Vucci/AP/dpa
For four years, Mike Pence was loyal to Donald Trump as Vice President in the United States. Now the Republican wants to become president himself – and is challenging his former boss.
Former US Vice President Mike Pence wants to become President of the United States. The Republican on Monday filed the necessary paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to run for his party’s nomination in the 2024 election.
Pence’s official announcement of the presidential bid is expected this Wednesday. The 63-year-old is also challenging his former boss Donald Trump (76), who wants to compete again after his defeat in 2020. Pence was his deputy from 2017 to 2021. The two have a difficult relationship – and a mixed past together.
Pence was long expected to enter the presidential race. For months he publicly fueled speculation, recently increasingly clearly. On Wednesday – on his 64th birthday – Pence is said to be officially presenting his ambitions for the highest office in the state throughout the day on all channels: with the publication of an election campaign video, an appearance in the state of Iowa and in the evening (local time) finally with a citizens’ question time at the television channel CNN.
With his application, Pence expands the field of Republican aspirants. The most prominent of them, alongside Trump: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley. More are likely to follow. An internal party primary decides who ultimately becomes the official candidate. Less movement is to be expected among the Democrats. US President Joe Biden is running for re-election, and as incumbent he is unlikely to face any serious competition from within his own ranks in the election campaign.
On the Republican side, Trump leads the field of applicants in polls. Pence is a long way behind at the moment. Although he is well known due to his tenure as Vice President, he is struggling with poor popularity ratings.
Pence sees himself as a “classic conservative” who wants to bring the Republican Party back to its roots. He is deeply religious, likes to talk a lot about religion, cultivates the image of a good civil servant. For Trump, the evangelical Christian covered this important constituency at the time. Pence also supports a nationwide ban on abortion, which is very important to many Conservatives, especially on the outer fringes.
Trump and Pence relationship damaged after Capitol storm
For years, Pence appeared as a loyal companion of Trump. Far more than other vice presidents before him, he was keen on continually praising his boss and putting him on some sort of pedestal. But at the latest in the turmoil after the 2020 presidential election, the relationship between the two was permanently damaged. The voted-out Trump, who at the time was fighting his election defeat with all his might, also incited his supporters against Pence.
Trump supporters stormed the Congressional seat on Jan. 6, 2021, while Pence was presiding over the confirmation of Democrat Biden’s victory. In the days before, Trump had claimed, among other things, that Pence could simply reject election results from individual states, which legal experts and the Vice President considered illegal. During the Capitol storm, Trump tweeted that Pence “didn’t have the guts to do what should be done.” Shouts of “Hang Pence” came from the mob. After the attack ended, Congress, chaired by Pence, completed confirming Biden’s victory. Pence later described Trump’s statements and his behavior as dangerous.
Most recently, Pence spoke moderately about his former boss. For example, he rejected charges against Trump for his role in the storming of the Capitol. “It would be incredibly divisive in a country at a time when the American people want to see us heal,” Pence said. He used the same reasoning to defend Trump against charges of paying hush money to a porn star.
Pence in a dilemma
Overall, the Republican is in a dilemma: On the one hand, he must praise the achievements of the joint government with Trump in order to emphasize his own political record. On the other hand, he has to set himself apart from his old boss and make it clear to people why he now thinks he is the wrong person to be in the White House.
Other Republican presidential candidates also have to manage the difficult balancing act of not scaring off Trump fans at the base and at the same time presenting themselves as a better alternative to the ex-president. This is all the more true for a Mike Pence, who stood loyally at Trump’s side for four years during his memorable term in office.