Former Vice President Mike Pence has said in a TV interview that he is considering running for US President even if Donald Trump runs for the White House again. Trump is expected to announce his renewed candidacy at his Mar-a-Lago estate this Tuesday, November 15. However, in an interview with ABC News, Republican Pence said there will be “a better choice” than the former president under whom he was vice president. He himself is thinking “in prayers” about running for office, and if that means challenging his former boss, “then so be it”.
Pence had campaigned for Republican candidates in midterm elections across the country, given speeches and raised funds for his advocacy group Advancing American Freedom collected. His memoir, titled So Help Me God, is scheduled for release on Tuesday.
While Pence routinely touts the accomplishments of the “Trump-Pence administration,” he has since distanced himself from his former boss, particularly over Trump’s view of the 2020 election, which he falsely claims was rigged and stolen. Pence had finally fallen out with Trump about it. Pence rejected Trump’s request to turn down votes for Democratic nominee Joe Biden in key swing states, prompting a mob of Trump supporters to storm the US Capitol, with some chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.” In the ABC interview, Pence detailed the harrowing experience he and his family went through during the riot and his determination to remain in the Capitol to do his duty.
Pence called Trump’s rhetoric at a rally just before the riot “reckless” and said he was “angered” by a tweet from Trump that his vice president “didn’t have the guts to do what needed to be done” – this one posted while the attack on the Capitol was underway. “The President’s words at the rally that day put me and my family and everyone in the Capitol at risk,” Pence said.