Former Vice President Mike Pence said he plans to test the theory that the GOP has changed in his first interview after formally launching his 2024 White House bid Wednesday.
Pence, whose older brother Gregory now holds his seat, served in Congress from 2001 to 2013 and rose through the caucus ranks to lead the House Republican Conference in 2009, and was seen as a prominent Tea Party-aligned lawmaker.
After his service in Washington, Pence successfully ran for governor of Indiana, an office he held until Donald Trump picked him as a 2016 running mate.
On “America Reports” Wednssday, Pence was asked about the perception his political platform closely mirrors that of the Trump-Pence presidency, and that he is trying to convince voters to “stick with the policies but go with a different horse pulling the cart.”
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Pence replied that “different times call for different leadership,” adding he remains proud of the Trump-Pence policy record. He said he remained loyal to Trump in that regard until “my oath to the Constitution required me to do otherwise” – an apparent reference to him bucking Trump’s demand he refuse to certify electoral votes the then-president challenged,
“I think as we go forward in this country, as we face challenges at home and abroad and driven by the failed policies of President Joe Biden and the Democrats in Washington, D.C., that we need to return our party to those time-honored conservative principles,” Pence said.
Without mentioning Trump by name on Fox News, Pence argued the former president and some other current GOP primary contenders are “walking away from American leadership on the world stage.”
“They’re walking away from a commitment to fiscal discipline. They’re even starting to walk away from the right to life,” he said.
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During his speech announcing his 2024 campaign, Pence claimed Trump abandoned some of the conservative values he ran on in 2016, saying that after the pair led “the most pro-life administration in American history, Donald Trump and others in this race are retreating from the cause of the unborn.”
“Now he treats it as an inconvenience, even blaming our election losses in 2022 on overturning Roe v. Wade,” Pence said in the address.
Reacting to conjecture in the press that Pence now finds himself in a Republican Party much different than the one he helped lead in Congress and in Indianapolis, the newly-minted candidate told “America Reports” he plans to test that claim.
“I know there’s talk about how the party has changed, but look, we’re going to test that theory. I really believe this is still a conservative party,” he said.
“[W]hile others in the field, including my former running mate, are walking away from America’s role as leader of the free world, the arsenal of democracy. I really do believe that Republicans still stand for a strong defense and a strong American presence on the world stage for freedom.”
“The same thing with fiscal responsibility, the same thing with a commitment to the sanctity of life.”
He said the GOP is changing the national consensus on whether China is an economic or strategic threat, adding that the nation’s hard swing to the left under Biden proves the need for strong traditional conservative principles in action.
Pence also said that while he is well-known, he is not “known well,” explaining that he is identified closely as a “quiet,” “loyal” supporter of Trump and his policies throughout his presidency. However, his new White House bid allows him and his family to introduce themselves more substantively to voters in early caucus states like Iowa, and across the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
