In a breaking news item, Former Vice President Mike Pence announced Saturday that he was suspending his presidential campaign in a speech before the Republican Jewish Coalition.
“I came here to say it’s become clear to me that it’s not my time. So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today,” Pence said, to audible gasps from the audience gathered at the Venetian resort on the Las Vegas strip.
It is unknown for now what made Mr. Pence decide to bow out of the race, but the announcement came after he failed to qualify for the upcoming debate due to insufficient funds collected. At the time that he announced he was running, he stated that, “My family and I have been blessed beyond measure with opportunities to serve this nation. And it would be easy to stay on the sidelines. But that’s not how I was raised,” implying that he felt a moral obligation to intervene. But his campaign never got off the ground in the crowded field.
Pence had to face fierce opposition from his former boss, Donald Trump, and many of his loyal supporters when he announced his candidacy on June 7, 2023, with a speech that denounced Trump’s “reckless” and “unconstitutional” attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, which led to the violent insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The former VP said that Trump “should never” be president again and that he was “very disappointed” in him for pressuring him to reject the electoral votes that certified Joe Biden’s victory.
Pence claimed that he was the best choice to lead the Republican Party and the country because of his experience as a congressman, a governor and a vice president. He touted his record of supporting conservative policies such as anti-abortion legislation, tax cuts, military spending and border security. He also criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the economy, inflation, the national debt, foreign policy and the coronavirus pandemic, all issues dear to the Republican/MAGA base.
But on the other hand, Pence had to compete with other candidates who were more popular with the Republican base and more loyal to Trump, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He also had to overcome the resentment and anger of many Trump supporters who viewed him as a traitor and a coward for refusing to help Trump overturn the election, something that the MAGA base will in all probability, never forgive him for.
Pence hoped to appeal to the moderate and traditional wing of the party, as well as to independent and swing voters who were disillusioned with Trump’s divisive and chaotic presidency, but all evidence still indicates that loyalty to Trump by his base is as rock solid as ever; indeed with every new indictment his strength and poll numbers have grown rather than declined.
In this fierce pro-Trump Republican presidential race, there seems to be no place for an anti-Trump critic such as Mike Pence.
