(TheConservativeNews.org) – Mike Pence is not ruling out the possibility of going head-to-head with his old boss Donald Trump in a 2024 Republican presidential primary.
“We’ll go where we’re called,” Pence told The New York Times in an interview published on Monday but was conducted last month.
“That’s the way Karen and I have always approached these things,” he added, saying they will pray about the decision.
Meanwhile Trump, despite not formally declaring a 2024 bid yet, has eyes on the competition. Trump seemed to suggest back in March that he will not choose Pence as his running mate if he runs for president in 2024.
During an interview with the Washington Examiner, Trump spoke about Pence and a possible third run at the White House.
“I don’t think the people would accept it,” Trump said.
Trump cited the aftermath of the 2020 election, suggesting his differences with Pence were too stark to overcome.
“Mike and I had a great relationship except for the very important factor that took place at the end. We had a very good relationship,” Trump said. “I haven’t spoken to him in a long time.”
Now, Pence is laying the groundwork for a presidential run. While giving a speech in Iowa, in April, Pence declared he was ‘incredibly proud of the record’ he and Trump had in office and said he and the ex-president spent ‘five years in the foxhole’ together.
However now, Pence is separating himself from Trump. For instance, Pence is campaigning with Georgia governor Brian Kemp, who similarly refused to let Trump talk him into disputing the 2020 election results. Pence also refers in his speeches to his gratitude toward people who thank him for standing up for the constitutional process on January 6, 2021.
In the most recent Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll, Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis comes in at a distant second but dominates in a scenario without Trump.
