Why Trump dumped Pence — and what it means for 2024


My Washington Examiner colleague David Drucker has the scoop: Former President Donald Trump and Mike Pence, his long-suffering vice president, are splitsville. Trump said in a wide-ranging interview published Wednesday that he would be unlikely to tap Pence as his running mate were he to run for the White House again in 2024.
This isn't enormously surprising. Trump has held a grudge against Pence for not going along with his unconstitutional scheme to effectively overturn the 2020 election results. Pence has become increasingly assertive about pushing back against Trump on this question. And unlike some others, Pence doesn't seem to be deferring to his old boss on 2024 either.
But Trump didn't say Pence personally was the reason another go-round is a nonstarter. "I don't think the people would accept it," he told Drucker. Pence's actions in certifying President Biden's election discredited him with the Republican base, Trump argued.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He may be right, but that's bad news for the GOP. Republicans should want the 2024 election to be about Biden and his record, which has thus far not been very well received by the electorate. Trump wants it to be about 2020 — and, particularly if both he and Pence run and lead the GOP primary field, it will be.
Perhaps that's an opening for someone — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)? or even Pence himself? — to run as the forward-looking candidate the Republican Party needs. But is there anything that has happened since 2015 that would make you want to bet on that outcome? Whatever Trump's shortcomings, his ability to sense what motivates the base is not one of them. And 2020 could be used as a dividing line between respectable Republicans like Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who in this telling craved adulation from The New York Times, and Republicans Who Will Fight. Fighting, of course, needs to be defined more broadly than, "Repeatedly punching oneself in the face to no obvious effect."
If Trump successfully makes 2024 about 2020, it would be an ironic boon for Democrats: Biden won in 2020 (really) because he was able to frame the election as a referendum on Trump, not a binary choice between the two of them. This time around, a binary choice is the Democrats' best shot.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.
-
The Retrievals, series two: 'essential listening'
The Week Recommends The second instalment of this hard-hitting podcast delves into the 'appallingly common injustice' of women having C-sections without pain relief
-
Cool off at the best saltwater pools in the UK
The Week Recommends From 1930s Art Deco lidos to 'magical' tidal pools, these sheltered spots offer a safer alternative to sea swimming
-
Kinmen Islands: Taiwan's frontline with China
In Depth Just a few miles off the mainland, the Kinmen Islands could be attacked first if China invades Taiwan
-
A Democratic election in Arizona is a microcosm of the party's infighting
The Explainer The top three candidates are fighting it out for a special election seat
-
Big, beautiful bill: Supercharging ICE
Feature With billions in new funding, ICE is set to expand its force of agents and build detention camps capable of holding more than 100,000 people
-
Deportations: Citizens could be next
Feature the Trump is expanding denaturalization efforts, targeting naturalized citizens and birthright citizenship
-
Ukraine: Trump's mixed messages
Feature Trump reverses a Pentagon freeze on Patriot missiles to Ukraine as Russia ramps up air attacks
-
Supreme Court: Ceding more power to Trump?
Feature SCOTUS has given Trump a victory by ending nationwide injunctions, limiting judges' power to block presidential orders
-
The Pam Bondi and Dan Bongino schism threatens Trump's DOJ
In the Spotlight Two MAGA partisans find themselves on either end of a growing scandal over Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to White House officials
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump uses tariffs to upend Brazil's domestic politics
IN THE SPOTLIGHT By slapping a 50% tariff on Brazil for its criminal investigation into Bolsonaro, the Trump administration is brazenly putting its fingers on the scales of a key foreign election