While the pair were once a rather formidable conservative force in Washington DC, former President Donald Trump and his former VP Mike Pence are no longer seeing eye-to-eye.
It appears that a great deal of this newfound friction revolves around the events of January 6th, 2021, in which Pence himself was specifically targeted with threats of violence by supporters of Trump.
Adding fuel to the fire are Pence’s potential plans to challenge Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – a conflict that will arrive sooner rather than later.
That is perhaps why Pence has chosen to take such an aggressive tone regarding Trump this week, citing the particular belief of the former President that Pence could have somehow refused to certify the 2020 election results.
On Saturday at the Gridiron dinner in Washington, Pence told journalists and their guests: “President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election, and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
Pence is now considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 – against Trump, the clear leader in polling.
Pence rarely addressed January 6 in the months after the riot but he has now upped his criticism of the rioters and Trump. In a memoir released in November he accused Trump of endangering his family.
The former Veep was not holding back.
“What happened that day was a disgrace,” Pence told the Gridiron audience. “And it mocks decency to portray it any other way. For as long as I live, I will never, ever diminish the injuries sustained, the lives lost, or the heroism of law enforcement on that tragic day.”
Pence has consistently suggested that he and his family are thinking and praying on the subject of 2024 presidential run, setting up the potential for an even nastier conflict with Trump to come.
