And he hadn’t shown much interest in the nuts and bolts of the job.īefore their inauguration, Pence – who had served a dozen years in Congress and one term as Indiana’s governor − was being referred to in the media as Trump’s “chief fixer on Capitol Hill,” the “Oarsman for The Swamp,” and “key to the first 100 days.” Trump was the first president to have had no political or military background. Unusually influential vice president?Īt the start of the Trump-Pence administration, there was much speculation that Pence could be an unusually influential vice president. “And the best is yet to come,” Harrington said. Wade, renegotiating a North American trade deal and getting tough on China. In response, Trump campaign spokesperson Liz Harrington named a long list of Trump’s “historic” accomplishments, including tax cuts, appointing three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. “But his concern is, candidly, the former president is now walking away from much of what they accomplished.” Pence is “proud of what they did for four years,” Short said. He is advocating changes to Social Security and Medicare, accusing Trump of being as negligent as he says President Joe Biden is in not addressing those expensive programs’ impact on the budget deficit.Īnd he has accused Trump of “retreating from the cause of the unborn,” a reference in part to Trump’s blaming Republicans’ underperformance in the 2022 midterms to many Republicans demanding no exceptions on abortion restrictions. He has criticized Trump for calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a genius, saying: "I know the difference between a genius and a war criminal." “But I think you'll see a natural separation, because Mike will still championing some of those things that I think President Trump is probably less comfortable with,” he said. “I think it’s a difficult thing to argue,” he said, “because of the structural nature of how we view the presidency and the vice presidency.”įor Pence, whose approach to the vice presidency was rooted in his belief in “servant leadership,” it’s also not in his nature to say, `Hey, I did this thing,’” said Marc Short, a top Pence adviser who served as his chief of staff. The problem for Pence, Jennings said, is the buck always stops with the president. There are accomplishments, such as a 2017 package of tax cuts, for which Pence can legitimately say he helped Trump close the deal, said Scott Jennings, a Republican political adviser who has worked for President George W. Now that Pence is running against Trump (and many others) for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, might he start taking more credit for his role in their administration? When Trump wondered why he wasn’t the one delivering a get-tough-on-China speech that was generating attention, Pence reminded him they’d gone over every line together.Īfter Trump realized millions of people were tuning in to the COVID-19 briefings led by the vice president, he reclaimed the spotlight.Īnd when Trump said his schedule wouldn’t allow him to address abortion opponents at their 2017 March for Life, Pence – one of the movement’s top champions – gingerly responded, “Well, you know, they actually invited me, too.” 2, Mike Pence knew not to overshadow his boss. Watch Video: Former VP Pence announces 2024 Presidential campaign
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