SHOCKER: Mike Pence finally dings Trump, then goes after GOP’s “Putin apologists”
This has to be the first time former Vice President Mike Pence has not said he would vote for Donald Trump in any public forum since the January 6th election. (video embedded below)
How far does blind loyalty take you?
In the case of the halo-seeking (and possibly White House-seeking) Pence, the answer is presumably to the point where your political master sends people to kill you, plus or minus 20 months.
In a public event at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Wednesday, the former Indiana governor was asked point-blank if he would vote for Donald Trump in 2024.
His hesitation spoke volumes.
Putting aside Pence’s vainglorious smugness, this response definitely does not bode well for Trump. He’s already suffering from a mountainous headache of legal troubles, including the ongoing fallout from the raid at Mar-a-Lago, Letitia James’s continued pursuit of the Trump Organization, and the fact that he now must be deposed in the E. Jean Carroll defamation suit, where he stands accused of rape (and where his own big mouth has gotten him into hot water).
Earlier in the day, Mike Pence spoke at the conservative Heritage Foundation, where he touched on the divide he sees between Reaganite conservatives and the new Trump breed of Republicans.
This could also be the first time a GOP politician agrees with President Joe Biden that the real problem is MAGA Republicans.
“Our movement cannot forsake the foundational commitment that we have to security, to limited government, to liberty, and to life,” said Pence. He finished by calling out the grievance circuses his old boss continues to organize around the country despite his shady rally business partner’s looming bankruptcy by saying:
“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.”
Returning to the GOP’s roots as a political party with at least some governing strategy, he added that they must remain committed to small government and other aspects of conservative orthodoxy.
Pence also criticized those who want to become “disengaged” from the foreign world, positing that “appeasement has never worked, ever, in history.”
“As Russia continues its unconscionable war of aggression [in] Ukraine, I believe that conservatives must make it clear that Putin must stop and Putin will pay,” intoned the ex-Vice President, one of a very quiet governing majority of Republicans who still oppose Russia, unlike bootlicking loudmouths in his party like Rand Paul or Tucker Carlson. “There can be no room in the conservative movement for apologists to Putin. There is the only room in this movement for champions of freedom.”
Yet, Pence has still supported senate candidates like venture capital-sponsored Blake Masters, the Arizona candidate for Senate and general crackpot who touts isolationism when he’s not busy endorsing racist extremists.
But the divide can definitely be seen.
Here’s a MAGA Republican legislator in Florida who (surprisingly) lost his primary race to run for Congress in a solidly red district.
Make America Great Again means eliminating Mike Pence from the conservative movement
— Rep. Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) October 20, 2022
The former radio host turned Vice President is clearly trying to tread carefully.
He wants to make sure that his own Republican credentials remain strong and that he’s ensconced himself well for the future.
And so he’s taking on what he might call an “old-fashioned, reliably Christian” political position, which is more of a dog-whistle bigoted call to action rather than the Trumpist outright hate, dictator worshiping, and isolationist political position.
Will the enemy of our enemy become our friend?
Well, maybe in a frenemy sort of way.
After all, the only things that cause Mike Pence to be unlikable are his views, his holier-than-thou attitude, and his entire personality.
And his hair, unless you’re a fly.
But still, as the Russians might say about his old political bedfellow turned Inciter-In-Chief, he could become an asset.
Here’s the video:
Former Vice Pres. Mike Pence had this to say when asked if he would vote for Donald Trump in 2024, if his former boss is the Republican presidential nominee: "There might be somebody else I'd prefer more." https://t.co/juahw6cJmw pic.twitter.com/HBHu9EBj7P
— ABC News (@ABC) October 20, 2022
Ross Rosenfeld is a writer from New York whose work has appeared in many publications and who is proud to be hated by Rudy Giuliani and just as proud to be part of the Occupy team. Follow him on Twitter @RossRosenfeld.
