The only thing surprising about this announcement would be if Mike Pence was ever dumb enough to think that this could go a different way. Donald Trump still hasn’t announced formally that he is running for president because that would turn off his electric acid kool aide grifting machine, and God forbid, we can’t have that. But insofar as he’s not running, or maybe running, it won’t be with Mike Pence at his side. Washington Examiner:

“I don’t think the people would accept it,” Trump told the Washington Examiner Tuesday evening during a wide-ranging telephone interview from Mar-a-Lago, his private social club and political headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida.

The former president cited friction stemming from the aftermath of the 2020 election, suggesting their differences are too stark to overcome. Trump claimed the contest was stolen and wanted Pence to overturn the results during the congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Pence, who in his capacity as Senate president was presiding over the certification proceedings, refused, explaining the Constitution granted him no such authority.

Trump continues to insist otherwise. He pointed to bipartisan talks on Capitol Hill to reform the Electoral Count Act, the law governing the congressional certification of Electoral College results, as proof his vice president could have thrown out electoral votes from various states and facilitated a second term for the Trump-Pence ticket. The former president called Pence a “really fine person” but signaled their relationship might be irrevocably broken. […]

Pence is considering a 2024 bid. He has let it be known he would not automatically stand aside if Trump ran and has accelerated efforts to establish his independence from the former president. Pence recently told a gathering of conservative lawyers Trump is flat “wrong” to claim the vice president is constitutionally empowered to throw out the results of a presidential election. Pence also took aim at Trump in a March speech to Republican donors.

I suppose that Pence could try to primary Trump. I hope to hell he does. I cannot think of anything more entertaining to watch. But I don’t think we’ll see it. What I think will happen is that Pence will go through the motions of building a campaign and when he sees it’s hopeless, he’ll suspend.

Help keep the site running, consider supporting.

5 COMMENTS

  1. The only question in my mind about this is when Pence will have that moment of clarity where he realizes that without Trump’s MAGAts he will never, ever even get the nomination much less become President. Which means the most massive mea culpa the world has ever seen complete with the appallingly disgusting spectacle of Trump extracting every bit of humiliation of Pence he can – complete with a moment at Mar A Lago (to which Pence has been summoned with a vague promise) where Trump firmly tells Pence he’s a LOSER who doesn’t have what it takes to be President! (Yes, I realize the irony of Trump himself not having a clue but that’s part of what will make it all entertaining)

  2. Why don’t Democrats just start playing this game exactly the way Trump wants to play it? So, Trump is still crying that the Vice President has the power to throw out the results of a valid election? F**king excellent! Because the Vice President in charge of certifying the 2024 election will be…Kamala Harris! Let’s do this! ???

    • yeah…let’s rise above the sea of idiots why don’t we? lmao

      Seriously, we’re supposed to be better than them. You know, believe in our constitution and shit like that.

  3. What will be more interesting is how the GOPers in charge of their states’ primaries react to Trump. After all, Trump pretty much managed to prevail on most GOP operatives in 2020 to deny ANY other name from appearing on the GOP ballot, even causing a number of state parties to simply not hold a primary at all.
    If the GOPers running this year with Trump’s support and/or blessing manage to prevail, there’s a good likelihood that those states will simply decline to hold a presidential primary (assuming Trump actually says he’s running instead of maintaining his little song-and-dance) but if the GOPers get elected *without* any significant help from a Trump blessing–or, in fact, win their bids by repudiating Trump (like that’ll happen, but dreams do sometimes come true)–there may be pressure to hold full-fledged primaries with multiple candidates. And I’m guessing Trump will have to make a formal campaign launch no later than October of next year if he hopes to appear on the early primary ballots. I really can’t see other potential candidates holding off that late to make their formal announcements (it’s always easier to launch a campaign and then end it than have to start one up from scratch after primary season begins).

  4. If 2020 didn’t prove once and for all it’s time to abolish the Electoral College and elect the president based on the popular vote (you know, the whole “one person, one vote” thing), like all other elected offices, I don’t know what would.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

The maximum upload file size: 128 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here