06/07/2023 20:45 (act. 06/07/2023 08:50 pm)
Former vice president running for top job ©APA/AFP
Early in his presidential campaign, former US Vice President Mike Pence sharply criticized his strongest internal party competitor and former boss Donald Trump. In view of the invasion of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, he accused Trump of putting him and his family in danger with his words. Trump placed himself above the constitution, Pence attacked the former president head-on.
“The American people deserve to know that on that fateful day, President Trump also asked me to choose between him and the Constitution,” Pence said on January 6, 2021. Now voters would be faced with the same decision laid out again. “Anyone who puts himself above the Constitution should never be President of the United States,” he said. And anyone who asks anyone to put him above the constitution must never be president again.
Trump supporters stormed the Congressional seat on January 6, 2021, as Pence presided over the confirmation of Democrat Biden’s victory. Trump had claimed in previous days that Pence, in his capacity as president of the US Senate, could simply reject the election results of individual states, which legal experts and the vice president deemed illegal. During the storm on Capitol Hill, Trump tweeted that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what was supposed to be done.” Chants of “Hang Pence” came from the crowd. With the attack over, Congress, chaired by Pence, concluded by confirming Biden’s victory. Pence later described Trump’s remarks and behavior as dangerous.
Pence made the statement just hours after publicly announcing his presidential candidacy. In it, he had left out his former boss. “I announce today before God and my family that I am running for President of the United States,” Pence said in a video posted on Twitter on Wednesday, his birthday. The 64-year-old had already submitted the necessary documents to the Federal Election Commission on Monday. In the evening, he wanted to answer voters’ questions at a Citizens’ Question Time for CNN television station in Iowa.
With his application, Pence wants to prevent a return of his former boss Trump. According to polls, he is the clear favorite in the Republican primary. Pence hardly stands a chance, but he may be uncomfortable with Trump because of his firsthand experience with the controversial former president on the campaign trail.
In his application video, Pence took aim at US President Joe Biden and his Democrats. “Our country is in trouble today. President Joe Biden and the far left have weakened America at home and abroad,” he said. “Out of control inflation” is destroying the American dream. Wages are falling and a recession is on the horizon. The US southern border is besieged by migrants and “enemies of freedom” are increasing around the world, Pence said. But God is not done with America yet. Together, we can bring the country back to its former strength. “The best days for the world’s greatest nation are yet to come,” he says.
In addition to Trump, the most prominent Republican presidential candidates are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. Other candidates include Senator Tim Scott, former Southern Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson and pharmaceutical entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024. An internal party primary decides who becomes the official candidate.
Less movement is to be expected among Democrats. President Biden is running for re-election and, as an incumbent, is unlikely to face any serious competition from his own ranks on the campaign trail.
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 fringes.
“Different times call for different leadership,” Pence emphasizes in his video. It would be “easy to sit on the sidelines”, but that’s not how he was raised – that’s why he wants to be president.
While Pence is well known for his tenure as vice president, he has struggled with low popularity ratings. For years, Pence has appeared as a staunch Trump sidekick. Much more than other vice presidents before him, he made a point of constantly praising his boss and putting him on some kind of pedestal. But no later than the turmoil after the 2020 presidential election, the relationship between the two was permanently damaged.
However, Pence has recently spoken subduedly about his former boss. For example, he rejected accusations against Trump for his role in the Capitol invasion. “It would be incredibly divisive in a country at a time when the American people want to see us healed,” Pence said. He used the same reasoning to defend Trump against accusations of paying a bribe to a porn star.