amna: Today was one of the
busiest days of the Republican
presidential campaign so far, as
Mike pence and Doug burgum
joined the race.
We'll look at both of the new
candidates, starting with the
former vice president.
As Laura barron-lopez reports,
during his kickoff in Iowa,
pence drew a sharp contrast with
his former running mate.
>> I stand before you today, as
a candidate for president to say
to the Republican party, the
Republican party must be the
party of the constitution of the
United States.
Laura: The right wing radio host
turned politician, serving six
terms in congress and four years
as Indiana governor before
joining the trump white house,
now hopes to take the top job
himself.
>> Anyone who puts themselves
over the constitution should
never be president of the united
States.
And anyone who asks someone else
to put them over the
constitution should never be
president of the United States
again.
Laura: One of the most outwardly
evangelical Christians in
government, pence's faith and
conservatism have defined his
career.
Elected governor of the Hoosier
state in 2012, pence enacted a
staunchly anti-lgbtq and
anti-abortion agenda.
In 2015, pence supported a bill
that allowed businesses to
discriminate against lgbtq
customers under religious
objections, a law he quickly
amended after facing national
backlash.
In the lead-up to his
presidential bid, pence has
called for a nationwide abortion
ban and an end to the commonly
used abortion medication pill,
mifepristone.
>> I'd like to see this
medication off the market to
protect the unborn.
Laura: As trump's vice
president, pence stood by
trump's side throughout his time
in office.
Until January 6, 2021.
Trump repeatedly pressured pence
to reject certification of the
2020 presidential election and
overturn the will of voters.
>> If Mike pence does the right
thing, we win the election.
Laura: A mob incited by trump
descended on the capitol,
searching for pence.
>> Hang Mike pence.
Hang Mike pence.
Laura: Pence refused.
>> To those who wreaked havoc in
our capitol today, you did not
win.
Laura: In the years since, pence
has seesawed between criticizing
trump for his role in the
January 6 attacks.
>> When he returned in the
months later to the rhetoric he
was using before January 6,
arguing that I had the right to
overturn the election, I just
decided it would best that we
went our separate ways.
And we have.
Laura: But defended him on other
matters.
>> This is nothing short of a of
a political prosecution being
affected by a Manhattan D.A. Who
literally campaigned on bringing
charges against one particular
American.
While potential legal troubles
still loom for trump, including
possible obstruction charges for
retaining classified documents
at mar-a-lago.
Pence was recently cleared by
the justice department, which
closed its investigation into
the discovery of classified
documents at his Indiana home.
It's not clear if pence will
break through in a crowded
primary with his former boss
leading the pack.
>> I think pence has a really,
really great heart.
I think he's very intelligent.
The whole pool is probably one
of the best pools I've seen for
candidates ever.
I mean, it's just really crazy.
Laura: Pence will join CNN for a
primetime town hall this evening
at grand view university in des
Moines.
He's scheduled to travel to new
Hampshire on Friday.
For the "Pbs newshour," I'm
Laura barron-lopez.
Amna: 400 miles away in Fargo,
North Dakota, governor Doug
burgum also launched his
campaign.
Lisa Desjardins reports on his
record.
>> Frankly, big cities can use
more ideas and more values from
small towns right now.
Lisa: North Dakota governor Doug
burgum's presidential pitch is
about his roots, far from
Washington.
>> Our whole town was about
taking care of each other, about
helping those in need, about
neighbor helping neighbor.
Every small town in America is
like that.
Lisa: In the 1980's, he took a
chance mortgaging his family
grain farm to launch great
plains software.
That gamble paid off.
He sold the company in the
1990's to Microsoft for $1.1
billion.
In 2016, he tried a new career,
entering the governor's race
with no political experience.
He easily beat an establishment
candidate and won reelection
four years later.
Energy policy, including
drilling, is a focus for burgum.
He's accused the Biden
administration of waging a war
on domestic fossil fuel
production.
>> It is a very simple
thing.
If we want to have a global
stable world and a strong U.S.
Economy, then we need to produce
energy for ourselves and for our
allies.
And we are not doing that.
Lisa: As for his GOP rivals.
>> Florida is where woke goes to
die.
>> Woke is what you did at 5:00
A.M. To start the day.
Lisa: Burgum is attempting a
nuanced contrast on social
issues, saying the economy
deserves more attention.
But he is socially conservative,
recently signing a state law
banning abortion at six weeks of
pregnancy.
And the human rights campaign
says North Dakota is on track to
pass more anti-lgbtq legislation
this year than any other state.
That includes a ban on
gender-affirming healthcare for
trans youth.
>> We understand families and
parents that are affected by it.
You know, it's a complex
emotional issue.
Lisa: On immigration, burgum
recently directed more north
Dakota National Guard troops to
the southern border.
But candidate burgum is now
looking east, with plans to talk
to voters in Iowa and new
Hampshire.
For the "Pbs newshour," I'm Lisa
Desjardins.
Amna: With burgum and pence
officially in, the Republican
field grew by three this week.
Former New Jersey governor Chris
Christie kicked off his campaign
last night in New Hampshire and
he has already set himself apart
as the most vocal trump critic
in the race.
>> The person I am talking about
who is obsessed with the mirror,
who never admits a mistake, who
never admits a fault, and who
always finds someone else and
something else to blame for
whatever goes wrong, but finds
every reason to take credit for
anything that goes right, is
Donald Trump.
Amna: With nine candidates now
on the stump, we take stock of
the race with whit Ayres.
He is a Republican strategist
and the president of north star
opinion research.
He's previously consulted
Republican candidates including
senators Marco Rubio and Lindsey
graham and Florida governor Ron
Desantis.
Let's take a look at these nine
candidates vying for the
Republican nomination.
Is this where you expected the
Republican field to be right
now?
What do you see when you look at
this?
Whit: We saw that a lot of
people were interested and would
want to try their hand and a lot
of people are worried it will be
like 2016 all over again, where
you divide the non-trope vote
and allow trump to win, a
majority of the delegates by
getting a plurality of the vote.
But the key is the man.so maybe
number of people who stay in
long after they could --
the model is the Democrats in
2020, when Joe Biden won south
Carolina.
Within hours many of the
candidates dropped out and
endorsed him.
On the other hand in 2016,
candidates like John Kasich
stayed in long after he had any
realistic chance.
He got 7% of the vote in
Virginia.
Marco Rubio would have beaten
Donald Trump had John Kasich not
been in the race.
The key to watch for Republicans
is how many stay in when they
have no chance.
Amna: You say stay and pass the
early states?
Whit: Past South Carolina, just
like the Democrats did with Joe
Biden after South Carolina.
Amna: I want to ask you about
some of the specific candidates.
The line that Mike pence has to
walk here, running against the
man alongside whom he served for
four years, whose supporters
wanted to kill him on January 6.
What do you make about how he is
messaging along those lines?
Whit: Mike pence is caught
between a rock and a hard place.
He is not trump enough for the
trump bees and he is too trumpy
enough for the non-trumpys.
It's a tough line.
Amna: Does Chris Christie
ramping up his attacks against
some of trump, does that force
of the candidates to meet him
where he is?
Whit: No.
He's.
Talented and very good at making
an argument.
Very powerful at making an
attack on his opponents.
But the Republican party is
split into three factions.
There is a never trump faction
that is only about 10%.
There is and always trump
faction of about 35%.
Those people will always be with
trump regardless.
The majority of the party, 55%,
our may trump voters.
They supported him twice, they
would vote for him again against
Joe Biden, but they are worried
about his electability, they are
worried he carries too much
baggage.
Chris Christie's message,
arguing that Donald Trump is
unfit for office, appeals to the
never Trumper's, but he will tap
out at about 10%.
Saying Donald Trump is unfit for
office is an insult to the maybe
trump voters who supported him
twice.
So he has no chance with those
people.
The other candidates are trying
to consolidate the maybe trump
portion of the party.
Amna: I want to play for you one
voter, a woman named Nancy and
here's what she had to say.
>> Trump is amazing.
But, you know, a lot of people
don't like him.
So do we want to be in that
situation where, you know, they
really, it's just really -- it's
sad that our country has so much
hatred towards that man.
So maybe we do need new blood.
Amna: There are a number of
candidates pulling in the low
single digits right now.
If they want to appeal to people
like Nancy, what is the message
you think those other candidates
have to carry forward?
Whit: They have to look and act
like a successful president of
the United States.
They have got to be able to
capture public attention.
They have got to be able to
capture any kind of excitement
that they possibly can.
And who knows, there is a lot of
talent in this field.
And somebody may catch fire.
But they are going to have to
catch fire in a big way in order
to surpass the lead Donald
Trump currently has.
Amna: Do you see among some of
those other candidates, Nikki
Haley, Tim Scott, Asa
Hutchinson, who could break
through, particularly in these
early states?
Whit: I think any of them could.
History is replete with
candidates who started off as
asterisks and ended up winning
Iowa or coming in a close second
and then doing really well in
New Hampshire.
It's matter of the kind of
campaigns they run and whether
they can catch fire at the right
time.
Amna: Always great to see you.
Thank you so much.
Whit: It's a pleasure.
♪♪