2024 US Presidential Elections

Pence Won’t Endorse Trump For President

Mike Pence’s statement marks a significant departure from his previous alignment with his former running mate and the president he served alongside.

Former Vice President Mike Pence made a surprising declaration on Friday (local time), stating that he “cannot in good conscience,” endorse presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, CNN reported.

This statement marks a significant departure from his previous alignment with his former running mate and the president he served alongside.

“Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years. That’s why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign,” Pence said on Fox News.

Pence articulated his stance during an appearance on Fox News, expressing concern over the disparity between Trump’s current agenda and the conservative principles they upheld during their four years in office.

Although Pence refrained from endorsing any candidate in the 2024 Republican primary following the end of his own presidential bid in October, he had previously committed to supporting the eventual GOP nominee. Trump had urged Pence to endorse him after the former vice president withdrew from the race, emphasising his role in elevating Pence to the vice presidency.

“I chose him, made him vice president. But … people in politics can be very disloyal,” Trump had said.

While Pence expressed pride in the accomplishments of the Trump-Pence administration, he highlighted areas where he believes Trump has deviated from conservative principles. He cited Trump’s positions on abortion, the national debt, and the recent reversal on TikTok as examples of this departure.

“During my presidential campaign, I made it clear there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues. And not just our difference on my constitutional duties that I exercised January 6th,” Pence said on ‘The Story with Martha MacCallum’.

“As I have watched his candidacy unfold, I’ve seen him walking away from our commitment to confronting the national debt. I’ve seen him starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life. And this last week, his reversal on getting tough on China and supporting our administration’s efforts to force a sale of ByteDance’s TikTok,” he added, as reported by CNN.

Addressing his own voting intentions in the 2024 general election, Pence opted to keep his choice private, stating, “I’ll keep my vote to myself.” He affirmed that he would not support President Joe Biden and indicated a reluctance to endorse a third-party candidate.

Pence’s break with Trump extends beyond policy differences. Notably, Pence declined to overturn the 2020 election results while presiding over Congress’ certification of Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021. He later criticised Trump for his role in inciting the violence that unfolded at the Capitol that day, asserting that Trump’s “reckless words” endangered lives.

Throughout his own presidential campaign, Pence cautioned against the allure of populism embodied by Trump and his followers. Recently, Pence’s advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, announced a USD 20 million initiative aimed at promoting conservative policies, CNN reported. (ANI)

Trump Rules Out Haley As Running Mate

Polls show Nikki Haley is much closer to Trump in New Hampshire, where she is expected to benefit from a more moderate Republican primary electorate — with undeclared voters participating in the January 23 contest, reports Asian Lite News

Keeping his Vice Presidential choice tightly under wraps, Republican frontrunner and former US President Donald Trump has ruled out Indian-American rival Nikki Haley as his running mate for 2024.

Addressing a rally on Friday at Concord, in the run-up to the New Hampshire nominating contest, Trump said that the former South Carolina Governor, who finished third in Iowa, “is OK, but she is not presidential timber”.

“And when I say that, that probably means she is not going to be chosen as the vice president,” Trump, fresh out of his landslide caucus victory by claiming 50 per cent of the vote, told his supporters, The Hill reported.

“When you say certain things, it sort of takes them out of play, right?” he added.

“I can’t say, ‘She’s not of the timber to be the vice president’ and then say, ‘Ladies and gentleman, I’m proud to announce that I’ve picked’.”

According to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Haley would be a good pick to balance out Trump’s weaknesses as a candidate.

But Haley, who remains confident about her election as the next US President, has said she is not keen on playing Trump’s second-in command.

“I don’t play for a second. I’ve never played for a second. I’m not going to start now. I’m not interested in being Vice President. I’m running to be President and I’m running to win and we will,” she said in a CBS News interview.

Polls show she is much closer to Trump in New Hampshire, where she is expected to benefit from a more moderate Republican primary electorate — with undeclared voters participating in the January 23 contest.

A recent CBS/YouGov poll had revealed that it is Haley who right now holds a bigger lead over President Joe Biden than either Trump or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in potential head-to-head match-ups.

With the New Hampshire primary scheduled for January 23, and South Carolina on February 3, the former UN Ambassador said that the Republican presidential race will be a contest between her and Trump.

In recent weeks, Trump has stepped up attacks against Haley, saying she needs Biden’s supporters to “infiltrate” the party primary to perform well in New Hampshire.

Early this week, he reposted a report from the right-wing website The Gateway Pundit that said Haley was not a US citizen because her immigrant parents were not citizens at the time of her birth.

The former President also used the Concord rally to take potshots at New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who is endorsing Haley, and fellow presidential rival DeSantis.

Trump said Sununu was backing a candidate who wasn’t “capable” of doing the job, adding that Haley wasn’t “tough enough,” “smart enough” or “respected enough” to win the Republican party nomination.

He dubbed Florida Governor DeSantis one of the greatest “self-destructions I think I’ve ever witnessed” and claimed that Sununu “didn’t have the guts’ to run for President”.

An average of New Hampshire surveys compiled by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill shows Trump ahead 11 points over Haley at roughly 46 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively.

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