Mike Pence Shocks GOP As Trump On Verge Of Nomination
Former Vice President Mike Pence has reiterated his stance on whether he intends to back his former boss and running mate, Donald Trump, as Trump is set to officially become the nominee next week.
Pence, who briefly campaigned for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, declared he would not be supporting Trump this time, asserting that Trump’s policies lack sufficient conservatism.
Pence’s relationship with Trump soured after the January 6 riots. The president criticized Pence for not returning disputed electoral slates to state legislatures as president of the Senate, which Pence argued he did not have the constitutional authority to do.
“It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year. I’m incredibly proud of the record of our administration. It was a conservative record that made America more prosperous, more secure, and saw conservatives appointed to our courts in a more peaceful world,” Pence said on Fox News.
Pence also criticized Trump for straying from his conservative principles, particularly in areas such as reducing the national debt and upholding the “sanctity of human life.”
He further commented that Trump’s recent remarks regarding China and his opposition to banning TikTok in the U.S. mark a notable departure from his previous strong stance against the Chinese-owned social media platform during his presidency.
“What I’m going to spend the rest of this year on is talking about what we should be for. And that is the broad mainstream conservative agenda that’s defined our party and always made America strong and prosperous and free,” he added.
Meanwhile, Make America Great Again Inc., a prominent Super PAC supporting Trump’s 2024 campaign, reported raising $104 million in the second quarter of 2024, covering the period from April to June.
MAGA Inc. also disclosed it has nearly $114 million in cash, as initially reported to Fox News on Friday.
This announcement from MAGA Inc. follows the Trump campaign’s revelation that it, along with the Republican National Committee, raised an impressive $331 million over the past three months, surpassing the substantial $264 million raised by the Democratic National Committee and President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign during the same timeframe.
A significant portion of Trump’s fundraising came from a surge following his historic guilty verdicts in his criminal trial this spring.
The Super PAC announced last month that it would support Trump with a $100 million summer advertising campaign in key battleground states.
This coincides with a recent Pew Research Center survey showing Trump leading Biden, particularly after Biden’s poor performance in last month’s debate.
About 68% of respondents told Pew Research they are generally dissatisfied with the presidential candidates available to them.
The Pew survey, released on Thursday, is the first following Biden’s disorganized and occasionally incoherent performance during the June debate. Trump’s approval rating stands at 44%, while Biden’s is at 40%. Trump notably holds a double-digit lead over Biden in three critical areas.
On immigration policy, Trump leads Biden by 17 points (52–35%), on economic policy by 14 points (54–40%), and on foreign policy by 10 points (49–39%).
A Rasmussen Reports poll shared on Friday delivers bad news for both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The poll indicated that 55 percent of respondents want Biden to withdraw from the presidential race. Additionally, 50 percent said the Democrats should choose someone other than Harris as his replacement.
“Importantly, nearly half (48%) of Democratic voters at least somewhat agree that Biden should step aside and let the Democratic Party choose another candidate,” the poll stated.