Former President Donald Trump is seeking an endorsement from his ex-Vice President Mike Pence despite their past political disagreements and tension.
What Happened: Trump, on Saturday, asked Pence to endorse him at a Las Vegas event. “People are leaving now, and they’re all endorsing me. I don’t know about Mike Pence. He should endorse me,” he said, CNN reported.
The former U.S. leader suggested that their shared tenure in the White House should be reason enough for Pence’s endorsement.
“Because I had a great, successful presidency, and he was the vice president, he should endorse me. I chose him, made him vice president. But people in politics can be very disloyal. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Why It Matters: Pence remained a loyal ally of Trump during his time in the White House. However, the relationship soured when Pence refused to assist Trump in overturning the 2020 election results. This tension reached a crescendo during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, where rioters, reportedly egged on by Trump, chanted, “hang Mike Pence.”
This sentiment was later defended by Trump himself, who told his then-Chief of Staff, Mike Meadows, that Pence “deserves it.”
Pence has consistently maintained that he lacked the authority to overturn the election and has claimed that Trump’s “reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day.”
Pence, over the weekend, announced that he was suspending his presidential campaign due to struggles in gaining support in the 2024 Republican primary. Meanwhile, Trump continues to be the GOP frontrunner.
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