With twice impeached former President Donald Trump out of office and the Republican party at war with itself, that doesn’t leave anyone in his toxic orbit in a very good position politically. Like, former vice president Mike Pence, for example. While Pence said he plans to use his influence to help Republicans win back the House and the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections, and he plans to publish an autobiography with Simon & Schuster, his appeal to the public appears to be lackluster.
According to Politico, Pence only got an audience of a few dozen people on Facebook live, and that’s embarrassing.
“On Thursday, Pence debuted the type of lines and arguments that could serve to relaunch him politically in the months ahead,” the outlet reports. “He slammed the Biden administration’s “avalanche of liberal policies,” including the president’s record on government spending, abortion rights, immigration, Iran Nuclear Deal, and his administration’s support for what Pence said is the “woke chorus” accusing law enforcement of systemic racism.”
“But there was evidence, even then, that the benefits that came with hitching his wagon to Trump had ended when that hitch came undone,” the report continues. “As Pence spoke, no cable channel picked up his remarks. Just a few dozen people at any given time watched him live on Facebook, including roughly 55 when the speech ended.”
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It sounds like a case of unrequited love.
“If Pence is seeking solidarity, however, it has not entirely been reciprocated. Since January 6, Trump and Pence have talked more than five times, according to a Pence aide, including three this month,” the outlet reports.”But the two have mostly gone their own separate and distinct ways. And Trump aides say they are not keeping tabs on his political machinations like they are for other leading Republicans. Indeed, a handful of those contacted for this piece confided that they had no idea Pence was making his post-White House debut on Thursday.”
“The Vice President’s foray into 2024 politics will be met with a more reserved golf clap,” said a former Trump senior administration official, who described Trump’s relationship with Pence as “cordial but not intimate.”
It’s easy to figure out why very few people wanted to hear the former vice president’s Facebook performance since Donald Trump’s supporters wanted to kill him during the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection. Trump launched a scathing criticism of his then-vice president for his refusal to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. And while Trump supporters were trying to hunt Mike Pence down on Jan. 6 with a gallows erected outside of the U.S. Capitol, the former president did nothing for hours to stop them.
You can read the full report here.
Featured image via Gage Skidmore/Flickr, under Creative Commons license 2.0
