Former Vice President Mike Pence is rebuking efforts by “one person” to choose the president. While he didn’t mention Donald Trump by name, it’s obvious who he was referring to. During a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California Thursday, The Los Angeles Times writes, Pence “laid out his vision for the future of the Republican Party” and that he was “attempting to unite the party’s quarreling factions by appealing to both traditional small-government conservatism and populist Trumpism.”
His remarks included an expansive reflection of his role on Jan. 6 certifying President Biden’s victory, explaining his actions as abiding by the law, despite pressure from then-President Trump not to do so.
Pence said:
“There is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president. The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone… I will always be proud that we did our part, on that tragic day to reconvene the Congress and fulfilled our duty under the Constitution and the laws of the United States.”
He went on to say:
“I understand the disappointment many feel about the last election. I can relate. I was on the ballot. But there’s more at stake than our party or our political fortunes in this moment. If we lose faith in the Constitution, we won’t just lose elections, we’ll lose our country.”
The New York Times writes, “It was the furthest that Mr. Pence, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, has gone yet in defending his role that day or distancing himself from Mr. Trump, to whom he ingratiated himself during their four years together in office.”
I’ve taken lots of shots at Mike Pence over the past 4 years because, like most every other Republican, he sold his soul to a corrupt, treasonous authoritarian. But Pence deserves big praise for what he says here. Take 2 min & listen. You’ll agree with every word. Thanks VP Pence https://t.co/kanHWFzEB8
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) June 25, 2021
I do think Pence’s best bet is to position himself as “Trump minus the sedition.”
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) June 25, 2021
Sorry to be especially cynical but Mike Pence realized that there's no way Trump will ever be interested in burying the hatchet with him. So, what we have here is the forced pivot to claim whatever moral ground Pence can cobble together to salvage his future in GOP politics. https://t.co/cnPmFqO5Mj
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) June 25, 2021
Covering pence incrementally, forgetting the context of his silence, and his complicity…is a mistake. The truth is…he did the minimum to certify. Literally he was a ministerial figure. And mainly he ignored and empowered lies for years. That is his legacy. https://t.co/mV2JhTaPWc
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) June 25, 2021