'Pence may be roadkill' to MAGA world — but Trump’s VP hopefuls 'are happy to feast on his carrion'

25 February 2024

Former Vice President Mike Pence became a target for MAGA fans after refusing to interfere with President Joe Biden's victory Donald Trump.

Nearly four years later, as the former president seeks to secure a second presidency amid 91 criminal charges, those vying to be Trump's running mate have been seeking advice from Pence on how to handle a MAGA administration, according to a Sunday, February 25 Politico report.

"After everybody started getting out, everybody slowly saw the handwriting on the wall, I started getting phone calls from people who were thinking about, 'How do we position ourselves?'" a Pence political team member told Politico.

Politico reports after the former president's Iowa victory, "intermediaries for Rep. Elise Stefanik, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Sen. Tim Scott have all sought out meetings with a former adviser to Pence this year, asking for intel on how to survive the gantlet of being vetted in a Trump veepstakes."

The news outlet notes, "Openly campaigning for the job of vice president is considered poor form. But that hasn’t stopped many of these candidates from doing so this weekend at the Conservative Political Action Coalition confab at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The event featured Stefanik, Noem, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and Vivek Ramaswamy, and the Pence world insider confirmed he expected to meet directly with at least Noem during her time in D.C."

However, Politico also reports, "A spokesperson for Stefanik did not respond to a request for comment. A person close to Scott said there had been no such outreach or communications. A Noem spokesman said 'No such conversations have taken place. There is no truth to these claims.' A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question about whether backchanneling with Pence allies would hurt a candidate’s prospects."

Though a Pence spokesperson declined to comment, a "Pence insider" told the news outlet, "Chasing a spot on the ballot beneath Trump is like participating in a greased pig contest, with a lot of mud and missed opportunities. It will be filled with mercurial and capricious twists and turns."

The news outlet emphasizes, "Pence may be roadkill in the Trump universe after their acrimonious breakup at the end of 2020 — and Pence’s ill fated, short-lived presidential campaign last year — but other Republicans hoping to win over Trump are happy to feast on his carrion."

Politico's full report is available at this link.

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