Mike Pence: America will have a better choice than Donald Trump

As the former vice president noted in an interview with CNN, “It’s time for a new leader who will unite the country around our highest ideals.” Does this mean that Pence is going to run for president himself? Political analysts are already analyzing his chances.

Mike Pence is having a very active media week. Two days before Donald Trump’s announcement about running for a new election, Pence gives a commentary to ABC-News about the former president’s reckless words on January 6, 2021. The day of Trump’s speech, he criticizes the former chief in a conversation with an Associated Press reporter.

And then there’s the CNN interview. Host Jake Tapper tries to get a definitive answer from Pence: so still, will the former vice president support the former chief in the upcoming election or not? And more importantly, will Pence go up against Trump in the Republican primary? Here’s a snippet of their dialogue:

– (Pence) I think we’re going to have a better choice than my partner in the previous presidential campaign. America longs for a return to policies that worked for the good of the people. But I believe it’s time for a new leader who will rally the country around our highest ideals.

– (Tapper) Are you referring to yourself?

– (Pence) I’ll keep you informed.

Political analysts see this as a reason not just to talk about Pence’s presidential ambitions, but to seriously weigh his chances. And they’re not so ghostly.

On January 6, 2021, Pence, if not enlisted himself among Trump’s enemies, is definitely out of his future ranks. The vice president refused to support the White House head’s demand to challenge the election results, deeming his actions unconstitutional. Trump wrote that Pence lacked courage. And the storm troopers stormed into the Capitol and hunted for the vice president. His family had to be evacuated.

“I think it’s reckless to make statements on Twitter that are directly critical of me when the Capitol is being stormed,” Pence told the Associated Press. – It put my family and everyone who was in the Capitol at the time in danger. The president chose to be part of the problem. And it was my responsibility to deal with the problem.”

Pence, in his own words, was furious. So he gained an image as a zealous defender of the Constitution, which could generate sympathy among undecided voters, political analysts say. Especially against the backdrop of Trump.

But initially Pence appeared on the political scene as a very religious ultra-conservative, and that is still the main feature of his political portrait. Therefore, among right-wing Republicans, again, Pence’s chances are high.

The obvious downside is his lack of charisma, compared to that of Trump or rising Republican star Desantis. But the primaries are still about a year and a half away. And Pence, experts say, should not be discounted, at the very least.