Donald Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, has announced that he will not support the billionaire Republican in the November presidential election, the agencies reported.
“I will not surprise you if I say that I will not support Donald Trump this year”Pence said in an interview with Fox News.
“During the presidential race, I made it clear that we have deep differences with President Trump on a number of issues, not least on my constitutional authority, which I refused to exercise on January 6.”
This is Pence’s first public appearance since Trump virtually secured the Republican Party’s presidential nomination before the primary race was over. At the beginning, the former vice president joined the fight for the nomination as a rival to Trump, but quickly withdrew after it became clear that he had no chance of success.
With the position announced by Pence, he becomes yet another high-ranking representative of the Trump administration who refuses to support the candidacy for re-election to the White House of his former boss, notes the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
What he said also marks the end of his metamorphosis, after he was previously considered one of the most loyal defenders of the billionaire.
The rift between them came after Pence refused to participate in Trump’s unconstitutional plan to stay in power after losing the 2020 election, the Associated Press noted.
“I believe that no one who puts himself above the constitution should be president of the United States, and no one who makes others put him above the constitution should be president of the United States again.” Pence said while still in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
During the events of January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to thwart the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s election victory, Pence was forced to hide in a Senate loading dock by angry mobs crowd chanting “Hang Mike Pence!”
To participate in the debates of the Republican primary race, Pence, like the other participants, had to sign a declaration that he would support the eventual candidate of the party. And at the first debate between the candidates for the nomination, which took place in Milwaukee, he was among the first participants to raise his hand in response to a question from the host if they would support Trump even if he were found guilty of the four cases against him.
During the campaign, however, Pence said he had major reservations about Trump’s actions and political views. The former vice president sounded the alarm about his party’s opposition to sending aid to Ukraine and urged Republicans not to be fooled by “the siren song of populism,” by which he meant Trump and his followers.
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