There's breaking news in the 2024
presidential race.
Former Vice President
Mike Pence declaring tonight
that he cannot in
good conscience endorse Donald Trump.
CNN's Christine Holmes
is following the story for us.
Christine,
what is Pence saying about his decision?
Well, Wolf,
it was surprising
and unsurprising at the same time,
the two men served side
by side, essentially.
Donald Trump was the boss of Mike
Pence, and Mike Pence
was one of the most loyal soldiers
to the former president up
until January six,
when he bucked a pressure campaign
mounted by the former president
and his allies to overturn
the 2020 election.
Today, no real mention of January six
and saying he would not endorse
former President Donald Trump.
But this is what he had to say.
Donald Trump
is pursuing and articulating an agenda
that is at odds
with the conservative agenda
that we governed
on during our four years,
and that's why
I cannot in good conscience
endorse Donald Trump in this campaign.
Now, the former vice president
there is pinning it
to these conservative values.
We know that he also has launched
this $20 million effort
to secure conservative values.
He's really
trying to path chart
a path for himself
as this Reagan conservative
within the Republican Party
that really has started
to come completely under
former President Donald Trump.
But while he doesn't mention Trump
but his behavior right away or at all,
you have to remember what happened
when that Pence entered the race,
which was essentially Donald
Trump went after him. He called him weak.
He said he didn't have the courage
to overturn the election,
do what needed to be done
on January six
and Pence has stood up
to Donald Trump on that,
essentially saying
that Trump is wrong
about what Pence's
power was on January six,
what his power was in terms of certifying
the election.
It's not that surprising, again,
that this is where he ended up,
but it is surprising
that he unequivocally said
in an interview
that he is not endorsing him.
He could have just ignored the question.
He could have said, oh, I'm
going to answer that at another time.
Instead,
he made a decision to say, in fact,
I am not supporting my former boss.
I am not supporting
former President Donald Trump.
Very significant moment indeed.
Christine Romans reporting for us.
Thank you very much.
I want to bring back
CNN political commentators S.E.
Cupp and Maria Cardona.
S.E.,
this is a remarkable shift
from Mike Pence, at least by perception.
What do you make of him saying
he can't endorse his former running mate?
Well, it is remarkable.
This is a vice president saying he's
not going to endorse the guy
he served for four years
and serve very loyal loyally.
That is remarkable.
However, pinning the reason
on policy
disagreements feels a bit like a cop out
to say he's now at odds
with the conservative agenda.
Trump has always been at odds
with the conservative agenda,
whether that was the debt
and the deficit,
limited government, family
values, protectionism.
Mike Pence seemed to be fine
with all of that.
And in fact, Donald Trump
exploded
the debt and the deficit
with Mike Pence's help.
It's just crazy to me
that Mike Pence can't say
after all of this time,
now that he's made it
official, he's not endorsing him.
It's because Donald Trump is dangerous.
It's because he led an insurrection.
It's because he's corrupt.
It's because he's facing
criminal indictments.
It's because he's
anti America and anti-democratic.
He can't say
all the very obvious things
he has to say.
They now have policy disagreements.
It's just so mealy mouthed and a pretty,
I think, impotent way to end
what was once
a pretty promising political career
for Mike Pence.
Interesting, Maria,
As all of us remember,
Pence was a very loyal vice president
to Donald Trump during his presidency.
How surprised are you by this?
Well, I am surprised because I thought
his cowardice would continue
since it has been a reality up until now.
So why now, I suppose?
And frankly,
I would have had
a lot more respect for him
had he said I cannot in good conscience
endorse someone who called for his MAGA
supporters to murder me,
because that's exactly
what Donald Trump did.
And so moving forward, you know, look,
it does give Democrats a talking point
by saying
Donald Trump's own vice
president did not
endorse him,
does not believe he is up for the job.
And so that's one thing that it gives us.
But at the end of the day,
I really don't think it matters
because let's remember,
Mike Pence doesn't
even really have his own base
because he never was really able
to stand up for what he believes.
SC Do you think this decision by Pence
could potentially impact
independent voters out there,
or maybe even Republicans
who are skeptical of Trump? But honestly,
I mean, as
Maria just indicated,
Pence has no constituency.
He's really irrelevant
in the Republican Party.
And listen,
I mean, a bunch of us are,
but he's he's made himself irrelevant
because in carrying Trump's water,
he turned off
principled conservatives like me.
But in not carrying it all
the way across the finish line
on January six,
he become became traitorous
to the rest of the MAGA Republican Party.
So I'm not sure his opinion matters
all that much.
And for independents
and moderates,
they're certainly not taking their lead
from Mike Pence's, you know,
you know,
political compass,
because we've we've not really seen it
point do north this entire time.
It's interesting, Maria.
Mike Pence
referenced January 6th
during that Fox interview.
We all remember him
having to be evacuated from the Capitol
as the rioters
were storming the building
and chanted for him to be hanged.
Do you think Pence
would be declining to endorse Trump
if not for the events of that day?
You know, that's a really good question,
Wolf.
I would like to say, again, giving him
the benefit of a whole lot of doubt here
that maybe he does
believe that Donald Trump
has turned around
on conservative principles.
But to his point,
he did that for four years
with Mike Pence, his help
as vice president.
And so that's why I said earlier
that I think
I would have more respect for him
had he made that issue,
had he made January six,
the fact that Donald Trump is dangerous,
that he tried to steal
an American election, that he inspire
the MAGA folks to come and attack
the Capitol,
murdering policemen,
calling for murdering the VP
if he had led with those
those reasons, Wolf,
I would have had
a lot more respect for him.
And maybe we could say, well,
that was the reason
that was the red line in the sand
for Mike Pence.
But then again,
why did it take so fricking long?
Maria Cardona and S.E.
Cupp to both of you,
thank you very, very much.