Mike Pence plans to keep his vote to himself, but “cannot in good conscience” endorse Trump
During a Friday appearance on Fox News, former VP Mike Pence said “It should come as no surprise” that he will not be endorsing Donald Trump‘s 2024 presidential bid.
Speaking to host Martha MacCallum, he elaborated on his decision, saying, “As I have watched his candidacy unfold, I have seen him walking away from our commitment to confront the national debt. I’ve seen him start to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life. And this last week his reversal on getting tough on China and supporting our administration’s effort to force a sale of ByteDance TikTok . . . Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years. That is why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign.”
Having ended his own presidential bid in October, Pence previously vowed to back the eventual GOP nominee, as CNN points out, but a clear case can be made for why he’s turning that back early.
“During my presidential campaign, I made it clear there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues. And not just our difference on my constitutional duties that I exercised January 6th,” Pence said, adding that when it comes time to cast his vote in this election, he’ll keep it to himself. And although he says he’ll never vote for Biden, or back a third-party candidate, it goes without saying that he won’t be voting for Trump.
