Mike Pence’s new campaign website lists his political accomplishments in chronological order… with an intriguing four-year gap since he was selected as Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee.
They were elected by the American people on November 8, 2016 and took office on January 20, 2017.
“In February 2021, Vice President Mike Pence joined the Heritage Foundation as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow.”
For anyone wondering how Pence would deal with the fallout of Jan. 6, when Trump supporters marched on Congress, some chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” and the bitter allegations that became between the former commander-in-chief and his once-loyal deputy imposed, the answer was there in black and white.
Or rather, in white space between paragraphs.
Mike Pence’s 2024 campaign website skates over his four years as vice president, from January 20, 2017 to a new position in February 2021
Donald Trump and Mike Pence in happier times. The former president and vice president (seen here in 2017) have traded barbs since leaving office in the wake of the January 6 violence
And it illustrates the dilemma facing Pence’s team. It will want to campaign on the Trump-Pence administration’s track record of tax cuts and standing up to foreign powers, such as Iran.
And it must win over members of the Trump base if Pence is to win the nomination.
But then there’s the thorny issue of how the president turned on Pence for refusing to undermine the Constitution and help him stay in power.
Rescuers say they recognize the challenge and plan to address it immediately.
“I think it’s something you have to walk through,” his adviser Marc Short told the Associated Press.
He did that at his launch in Iowa. He said the American people deserved to know why he was running against his former running mate.
“As I’ve said many times, President Trump’s words on that fateful day were reckless,” he said. “They endangered my family and everyone in the Capitol.
But the American people deserve to know that on that day President Trump also demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution.
Now voters are faced with the same choice.
“I chose the Constitution and I always will.”
On that fateful day, President Trump’s words were reckless. They put my family in danger,” former Vice President Mike Pence told a crowd of supporters as he launched his presidential campaign and rebuked former President Donald Trump for his actions on that day.
Pence joins a crowded field dominated by Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
But his posts make it clear he wants his campaign to be about something other than his former boss.
So there was another gap in a three-minute campaign video published hours before he officially announced his run. The word “Trump” was conspicuous by its absence, even if there was a not-so-subtle dig.
“Different times call for different leadership,” he said.
“Today our party and country need a leader who, as Lincoln said, will call upon the better angels of our nature.”
Even before announcing his candidacy, Pence secured his third place in the national polls.
According to a followed by FiveThirtyEight, Pence has 5.4 percent support among the already overcrowded GOP primary field. However, his No. 3 spot is more than 16 percent behind second-place Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Trump is still safely in first place with 53.7 percent.
Pence highlighted his background in the announcement video, saying he was “son of the midland, grandson of an Irish immigrant.”
That’s why he said, ‘My family has been living the American Dream. I had the great honor of serving in Congress, as Governor and as your Vice President, and I will always be proud of the progress we have made together for a stronger, more prosperous America.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence donned a leather vest and jeans as he joined a motorcade of about 200 bikers in Des Moines, Iowa, at a rally of 2024 GOP hopefuls on Saturday
He then took aim at Biden and the Democratic party, saying, “Today our country is in big trouble. President Joe Biden and the radical left have weakened America at home and abroad. The American Dream is being crushed by runaway inflation, wages are falling, a recession is looming.
Pence wants to appeal to caucus-goes in Iowa, a more conservative electorate than the second early state of New Hampshire.
He rode a Harley Davidson in a veterans rally in Des Moines on Saturday and was back in the state on Tuesday to launch his campaign.
Supporters think he has a path to the nomination, despite the early run by Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
While drawing a populist line, they think there is a constituency yearning for a return to Reagan-esque conservatism, with a small government and a strong foreign policy.