Former President Trump on Tuesday dismissed his former vice president’s decision not to support his 2024 candidacy.
Asked about Mike Pence’s announcement that he would not support his former boss and two-time running mate, Trump said: “I couldn’t care less.”
“We need patriots. Our country needs strong people. Our country is going downhill very quickly, very quickly,” he said in the Florida Republican primary. Trump, who was voting, added. “This country needs strong people. It doesn’t need weak people.”
Pence said Friday he supports his two-time running mate “in good conscience,” citing a series of policy disagreements and Trump’s actions over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. announced that it was not possible.
“The conservative movement is at a crossroads,” Pence said in a statement explaining his decision. “I intend to move forward and fight for the fundamental conservative principles that our movement has always celebrated.”
Mr. Trump is the presumptive Republican candidate for the November election, and is expected to face President Biden in a rematch.
Pence was an unflinchingly loyal vice president to Trump during his time in the White House, but he emerged as one of Trump’s most outspoken critics during the 2024 Republican primary campaign, gaining support from Republican voters. The project was terminated in October last year as it was not possible to obtain the desired results. .
For nearly two years, Pence has said publicly that he does not have the authority to reject the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021, despite pressure from President Trump. Mr. Pence began his campaign by arguing that Mr. Trump’s actions on January 6th were disqualifying.
The former vice president cited Trump’s lack of a plan to tackle the national debt, his evasive comments about restricting abortion, and his recent opposition to the ban on TikTok his administration pushed for in 2020. He said the differences are not limited to that day.
Pence has said he will not vote for Biden in November.
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