Pence is one of Trump’s early rivals in the primaries ahead of the 2024 election (file photo)
Washington:
Former US Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday he would not support Donald Trump as his former boss runs for a second term in the White House.
“It’s no surprise that I won’t be supporting Donald Trump this year,” Pence said in an interview on Fox News.
US media called the announcement a “bombshell” and “shocking”, despite the fact that deep differences between the two have driven the pair apart since leaving office, and it would be a surprise if they gained support. .
The two became estranged after Trump tried to pressure Pence to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, and repeatedly took to social media when Pence disagreed with the plan. Attack him.
After repeated failed attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn the election results, the then-president directed a march of supporters to the Capitol, which they ransacked, with some chanting “Hang Mike Pence!”
Pence told Fox News that Trump is “pursuing and articulating an agenda that is inconsistent with the conservative agenda that we’ve had in power for four years.”
The 64-year-old’s comments came days after Trump secured enough delegates to win the Republican nomination to challenge Biden in November.
Pence was one of Trump’s early rivals in the primaries ahead of the 2024 election, although he dropped out of the race last October after polls failed to reach double digits.
‘reckless’
Pence offered no other endorsements — there are several third-party candidates in the race — and said he would never vote for Biden, who secured the Democratic nomination this week.
Before the insurrection in Washington, Pence provided Trump with years of unwavering and loyal service.
But he called the president’s actions on January 6, 2021, “reckless” and said they “endangered me and my family.”
Trump had asked former Indiana Governor Mike Pence to disrupt Congress’ certification of Biden’s election victory.
Pence refused, earning the enmity of Trump’s die-hard followers and becoming persona non grata in the far-right “Make America Great Again” movement.
The evangelical Christian also received unwanted headlines after leaving office over an FBI search of his home — part of a broader scandal in Washington over the mishandling of classified documents — and He was called to testify ahead of a federal investigation into the Capitol riot, but he declined.
He defended the Trump administration’s record from 2017-21 in an interview with Fox News, saying he was “incredibly proud” of its achievements.
“The record of conservatives has made America more prosperous, more secure, and has allowed conservatives to be appointed to our courts in a more peaceful world,” he said.
“But that being said, during my presidential campaign, I made clear that President Trump and I have deep differences on a range of issues.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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