Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrives to speak at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s Annual Leadership Summit in Las Vegas on October 28, 2023.
Steve Marcus | Reuters
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that he will not support his former boss for president in the 2024 election.
Pence announced the decision during an interview on Fox News. “I will not support Donald Trump this year,” the Republican said.
Pence’s announcement came as Trump won enough Republican delegates this week to secure the party’s nomination.
Trump “is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda under which we have governed during our four years,” Pence said.
“As I have followed the course of his candidacy, I have seen him distance himself from our commitment to addressing the national debt,” Pence said. “I saw him shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life.”
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Pence also noted Trump’s “shift away from taking a tough stance on China and supporting our administration’s efforts to force a sale.” [ByteDance’s] “Tick tock.”
Trump recently reversed his long-held position on whether TikTok should continue to operate in the U.S. under the ownership of China-based ByteDance.
Pence launched his own bid for president against Trump and a crowded field of Republican candidates, but dropped out in October 2023 after his campaign failed to resonate with GOP primary voters.
Pence added on Friday that he would “never” vote for Democratic President Joe Biden, who also secured his party’s nomination in the March 12 primary.
“I will keep my vote to myself,” Pence said.
Pence served as Trump’s vice president during his single term, from January 2017 to January 2021.
On January 6, 2021, Pence and members of Congress were forced to flee the Senate and House chambers as a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol complex.
Trump had urged his supporters that morning to march to the Capitol and protest the certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory over him.
As the mob breached the Capitol’s security fence and attacked law enforcement, Pence was inside, presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College votes.
—CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this story.
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2024-03-15 21:38:02
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