Former White House official says Trump 'would throw Mike Pence in a wood chipper if he needed to'
The possibility of President Trump replacing Vice President Mike Pence on the Republican ticket this November has come up before, although the consensus seems to be that nothing quite so drastic will happen. Still, there are some people who apparently thought Trump would have already dumped Pence by now, Politico reports.
At least one former White House official who frequently interacted with Trump is "very surprised" Pence remains on ticket and claims the president would throw his supposed right-hand man "in a wood chipper if he needed to." The former official added that if an adviser told Trump he needed to choose a woman or Black running mate, for example, to win the election, the commander-in-chief wouldn't hesitate to make the change. "If it's good for Trump, he'll do it in a second," the source said.
Don't expect it though, Politico says. "It's likely too late to do any good" for Trump and "would smack of desperation" while endangering the support of religious conservatives who support Trump out of convenience, but harbor genuine affection for the vice president. Read more at Politico.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 – 30 JanuaryQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why is China clearing out its generals?Podcast Plus, can the Conservatives win back the centre? And what’s gone wrong with Britain’s hearing aids?
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A Viking festival, an inky fingerprint, and more
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
