Vice President Mike Pence has filed papers to jump into the 2024 presidential primary for the GOP nomination, setting up a clash with President Donald Trump.
Pence has long been expected to enter the race, and is set to formally announce his candidacy on May 7.
Pence will enter a growing field of candidates competing for the nomination, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Though he served as Trump’s vice president, the two increasingly grew apart in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.
At the time, Trump tried to convince Pence to use a disputed power under the 12th Amendment to refuse certification of electoral slates from contested states where Trump said the results were plagued by widespread voter fraud.
Pence refused repeated efforts by the former president to use this power, and has characterized Trump’s efforts as a danger to American political norms.
“President Trump was wrong,” Pence said of the matter.
“I had no right to overturn the election. And [Trump’s] reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
Prior to filing papers, Pence set himself up as an anti-populist seeking a return to the pre-Trump Republican Party, calling on conservatives to reject the “siren song of populism.”
“I believe we have to resist the politics of personality and the siren song of populism unmoored to timeless conservative principles, and we need to stand firm on the conservative agenda of life and liberty and a commitment to freedom that has always led us to victory,” Pence said.
“Our movement cannot forsake the foundational commitment that we have to security, to limited government, to liberty, and to life. But nor can we allow our movement to be led astray by the siren song of unprincipled populism that’s unmoored from our oldest traditions and most cherished values.”
“There’s a healthy debate going on within our movement today,” he added. “Some in our movement long for a simple return to the traditional conservative agenda of the Reagan era. Others say our movement should be swept along by a new and energetic sense of populism.”
Despite the personal feud between Trump and Pence, Trump has focused much of his efforts on DeSantis, considered the runner-up for the nomination.
Most polls have Pence well behind Trump, polling equally with figures like Haley, but lagging when compared to the double-digit leads enjoyed by Trump and DeSantis.
From The Epoch Times