Former Vice President Mike Pence played coy when asked about his 2024 presidential ambitions.
The former vice president has shown an increasing willingness to break from former President Donald Trump, setting up a potential in-party showdown as Pence courts establishment Republican voters ahead of a 2024 contest that could feature several high-profile GOP contenders.
“I’ll keep you posted,” a smiling Pence told students at the University of Virginia on Tuesday when asked about the 2024 election.
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The former Indiana governor previewed what a Pence administration could look like, expressing support for biologically female athletes amid the success of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
“Emma Weyant won that race,” Pence said, prompting applause from an audience that apparently supported second-place Weyant after Thomas’s NCAA victory. “We need to defend the integrity of women’s sports in America for the benefit of women everywhere.”
Pence also reiterated his unwavering support for Ukraine and its “deeply inspiring” president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Relations have frayed between Pence and Trump since the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, an incident about which the two have expressed divergent takes. While Trump voiced support for the rioters and called on the then vice president to overturn the election results, Pence insisted he had no such authority.
“President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election,” Pence said at a Federalist Society event in Florida in February.
Weeks later, Pence told a crowd at Stanford University that he and Trump may not “ever see eye to eye” regarding the events of Jan. 6.
Trump all but ruled out selecting Pence as a running mate in 2024, saying, “I don’t think the people would accept it.”
“Mike and I had a great relationship, except for the very important factor that took place at the end. We had a very good relationship,” he said of his former vice president. “I haven’t spoken to him in a long time.”
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Trump was impeached for his words and actions preceding the Jan. 6 riot but was acquitted in the Senate. He had previously been impeached on two Ukraine-related charges before being acquitted.
Pence is the Ronald Reagan presidential scholar at Young America’s Foundation, where he also hosts a podcast called American Freedom with Mike Pence.
