Former Vice President Mike Pence indicated Wednesday that he might not be inclined to vote for former President Donald Trump in 2024 should he launch another White House bid.
Asked by a student at Georgetown University if he would vote for Trump if he is the nominee in 2024, Pence replied, “There might be somebody else I prefer,” an apparent nod to his own presidential ambitions.
Speaking at the Georgetown Institute of Politics, Pence reiterated that he and former second lady Karen Pence will pray over the decision of whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination “in the coming months” before announcing a formal decision.
Pence also decried the fraying of civility in the country and called for students to defend the Constitution, but he kept remarks on the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, where supporters of the former president called for Pence’s death, limited.
Asked by a student if he would denounce the violence that unfolded on Jan. 6 and the continued “anti-democratic lies of Trump,” Pence offered a curt response.
“It was a tragic day,” he said.
In a February speech in Florida to the Federalist Society, Pence disputed Trump’s claim that he simply could have refused to certify Electoral College count showing that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election.
“President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election,” Pence said.
Since leaving the White House last year, Pence has embarked on a nationwide speaking tour, often campaigning for Republicans in state and federal races across the country, but spending a fair amount of time in critical early-voting states like Iowa and South Carolina, teeing up an expected run for president in 2024.
