Source: Politics<\/p>\n
The final weeks of the Donald Trump-Mike Pence partnership were an unmitigated disaster. Pence, the fiercely loyal vice president, was ushered to safety in the halls of Congress after he refused his boss\u2019 wishes to not certify the election results. For that act, Trump tweeted that Pence lacked the \u201ccourage\u201d to act. The pro-Trump crowd looting the Capitol chanted \u201chang Mike Pence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just over 110 days later, Pence finally spoke in public, appearing before a crowd of evangelical conservatives at the Palmetto Family Council\u2019s annual gala in Columbia, S.C. on Thursday night. If there was any anger lingering, he didn\u2019t show it. He barely mentioned what transpired on January 6, only referring once to \u201ca divisive election tragedy at our nation’s Capitol.\u201d <\/p>\n
Instead, he touted the administration\u2019s accomplishments, and often alluded to Trump as if they were still in a partnership. “We made America greater than ever before,” he said at one point. \u201cI gotta tell you it was four years of consequence, four years of results, and four years of promises kept.\u201d <\/p>\n
If Pence is seeking solidarity, however, it has not entirely been reciprocated. Since January 6, Trump and Pence have talked more than five times, according to a Pence aide, including three this month. But the two have mostly gone their own separate and distinct ways. And Trump aides say they are not keeping tabs on his political machinations like they are for other leading Republicans. Indeed, a handful of those contacted for this piece confided that they had no idea Pence was making his post-White House debut on Thursday. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Vice President\u2019s foray into 2024 politics will be met with a more reserved golf clap,\u201d said a former Trump senior administration official, who described Trump\u2019s relationship with Pence as \u201ccordial but not intimate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside Trump World, there is a sense that Pence no longer has his the utility he once did. When he was chosen as Trump\u2019s running mate in 2016, it was in large part because of his appeal to evangelical conservative voters and the need to sooth over the GOP establishment. But political advisers to the 45th President see evangelicals as one of his most steadfast voting blocs now. And Trump himself has replaced or driven out the establishment that once recoiled at him. <\/p>\n
\u201cI like Mike Pence. I think he was a great VP. A great guy,\u201d said a former campaign aide. \u201cBut the reality is a large portion of the Trump base doesn’t like him or care about him. He wasn’t a liability [in 2020]. But was he an asset? Sure. He could give good interviews. But his ability to attract new voters wasn’t really there.\u201d<\/p>\n
As they ponder another run for the presidency in 2024, Trump aides have discussed people other than Pence to serve in the VP candidate role (assuming Trump wins the nomination). On Wednesday morning, Fox News\u2019 Maria Bartiromo floated the name of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a potential sidekick in the next presidential election, a suggestion Trump did not rule out.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people like that \u2014 you know, I\u2019m just saying what I read and what you read \u2014 they love that ticket,\u201d Trump said on Fox News. \u201cBut certainly, Ron would be considered. He\u2019s a great guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when asked about the future of the Republican party on \u201cThe Truth with Lisa Boothe\u201d podcast, Trump skipped Pence\u2019s name in favor of singling out others like South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Nebraska Sen. Josh Hawley, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.<\/p>\n
Penny Nance, CEO and President of the conservative group Concerned Women for America, said Pence \u201clooms large as someone we know and trust and supported very strongly in the past four years.\u201d Nance, who worked closely with the White House on conservative issues, also said, \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s the only one \u2014 I haven\u2019t endorsed anyone \u2014 but he is someone who has a lot of respect among evangelical Christian voters.\u201d <\/p>\n
While some in Trump\u2019s own circle are skeptical of Pence assuming the MAGA mantle, according to a March survey<\/a> from GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio, the former VP is the top pick among Republican voters for a presidential ballot without Trump. <\/p>\n \u201cI think if Pence got into a Trumpless field he\u2019d be a top-tier candidate but he wouldn\u2019t be the only top-tier candidate,\u201d said a former Trump adviser. \u201cWould it surprise me to see Mike Pence heading up Heritage instead of running for president or being the GOP nominee in 2024? No.\u201d <\/p>\n Pence\u2019s political career and deep network within the evangelical conservative corners of the Republican party has been carefully built up over the years, as a talk radio host, congressman from Indiana, governor of the state, and a sobering force on the 2016 Republican presidential ticket. Over the course of Trump\u2019s tumultuous four years in office, he stood by Trump\u2019s side through repeated controversy. The belief among Pence aides was that Trump supporters would reward him for that loyalty.<\/p>\n January 6 has changed that, sullying Pence\u2019s reputation among the MAGA crowd and Trump, who told Republican donors<\/a> behind closed doors earlier this month he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d in his vice president for not doing more to stop election certification.<\/p>\n Out of the White House, Trump has continued to share his opinions in frequent statements, appeared sporadically on friendly TV, and met with politicians at his Mar-a-Lago mansion eager for his stamp of approval. Pence, by contrast, has quietly stood offstage \u2014 not even appearing at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference \u2014 as he plotted out his next steps and built a political industry around his conservative vision for the GOP. He underwent heart surgery earlier this month, a fact that Trump found out through news reports, according to CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now out of office, Pence said he plans to use his influence to help Republicans win back the House and the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections. He is planning to publish an autobiography with Simon & Schuster. <\/p>\n The conservative Heritage Foundation named him a distinguished visiting fellow. And he is active with his own political action committee and the newly formed Advancing American Freedom, a political advocacy group that has the backing of prominent Trump administration officials like counselor Kellyanne Conway, Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow, and former Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services Administrator Seema Verma.<\/p>\n