The feud between former President Donald Trump and his old Vice President Mike Pence has been steadily mounting since the moment Trump decided that he wouldn’t be accepting the results of the 2020 presidential election — and Pence decided he wouldn’t be helping his “boss” to overthrow it.
Since then, it’s only grown and grown, with Trump taking his standard, public jabs at his former right-hand man, while Pence tends to do things more quietly and passive-aggressively, like throwing his support behind GOP candidates that Trump doesn’t back, or hinting at his own presidential run, even if that means going up against Trump himself.
It’s long been known that Pence has had his eye on a potential White House term or two of his own, and now that he and Trump are feeding, I suppose it seems like the perfect timing for him. However, according to a new report from The Atlantic, Pence’s past association and devotion to Donald Trump may very well cost him his presidential hopes and dreams before they ever have the chance to truly get going.
The Atlantic report notes that, over his political career, Pence has done all the right things, checked off all the proverbial boxes, for someone with their eye on the White House. He took advice from Dan Quayle and left Congress to instead pursue a gubernatorial campaign, then going on to serve as Vice President of the United States — all of which, in theory, should set him up as a strong contender in his eventual presidential campaign. However, the fact that he served under Donald J. Trump could have very well made that all for nothing.
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Anti-Trump Republican strategist Sarah Longwell explains, “He stood by while the party was actively changed by Trump, and now it’s not interested in politicians like him anymore.”
While Pence has yet to make a formal, official announcement regarding his potential run against the man whose supporters were itching to hang him during the Capitol riot, it’s undeniable that Pence is currently behaving as though he’s under the impression that Trump won’t actually risk another loss.
Trump’s former Chief of Staff John Kelly has said, “Trump won’t run. He’ll continue talking about it; he may even declare, but he will not run, and the reason is he simply cannot be seen as a loser.”
Kelly’s sentiments have been echoed by others, such as Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, and his former personal attorney Michael Cohen. It seems many insiders just don’t believe that Donald will risk the very real possibility of suffering such a loss for a second time, despite his incessant hints at a 2024 run.
To stand even a chance in Hell at securing a presidency of his own, Pence would absolutely have to secure a strong base of evangelical Christians, cultural conservatives, and mainstream Republicans. But according to Longwell, that’s going to be a real problem for the former VP.
“Pence doesn’t do well with anybody,” Longwell said, matter of factly.
Apparently, the mere mention of Pence’s name causes voters to wrinkle and turn up their noses, a clear indication of their dissatisfaction with the former Vice President.
“Not interested,” Longwell stated.
You can read the full report from The Atlantic here.
Featured image via screen capture
