Conservative blasts NYT over muted coverage of Pence’s 'enormously significant' refusal to endorse Trump

18 March 2024

Since leaving the White House in January 2021, former Vice President Mike Pence has avoided aggressive criticism of Donald Trump. Even when Pence was running against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, his criticism of him was mild compared to the scathing attacks on Trump that regularly come from Never Trump conservatives like attorney George Conway, The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson and MSNBC's Joe Scarborough.

But on Friday, March 15, Pence announced that he cannot, in good conscience, endorse his party's 2024 presidential nominee. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), radio host Larry Elder and other Republicans who ran against Trump in the primary have endorsed Trump — but not Pence, who hasn't endorsed President Joe Biden either.

In a column published by the conservative website The Bulwark on March 18, Never Trumper Jonathan V. Last argues that Pence's refusal to support Trump should be a much bigger story in the mainstream media — including the New York Times.

Last explains, "Donald Trump's own vice president refuses to endorse his candidacy because he believes Trump is a traitor to the Constitution and a danger to America. How many times has the NYT mentioned this enormously significant fact? So far, twice."

The Bulwark columnist continues, "The first was a 500-word squib on March 15 — headline: 'Pence Says He Won’t Endorse Trump, but Won't Vote for Biden Either.' The second was during a 1600-word conversation between Gail Collins and Bret Stephens on March 18."

Last finds it regrettable that the New York Times, since March 15, has paid more attention to Biden's age than to Pence's announcement.

"For context: Since March 15, three NYT stories have mentioned concerns about Biden's age," Last observes. "No American vice president has ever said that his former boss is unfit to serve. It is the most devastating possible observation from the most credible source in existence. Pence's refusal to endorse Trump should be part of the context of every single story about this campaign — especially because it's not just Pence."

The Never Trumper goes on to cite other former Trump Administration officials who aren't supporting his 2024 campaign.

"Trump's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff called him 'a wannabe dictator," Last observes. "Trump's secretary of defense called him 'a threat to democracy.' Trump's national security advisor called him 'a danger to the United States.' Trump's chief of staff observed that he is: 'A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators — a person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution and the rule of law.'"

Last continues, "These are not hysterical resistance libs or Democrats looking for partisan advantage. These are serious people — Republicans who worked for Trump at the highest levels and saw him up close — who are testifying not that Trump is suboptimal, or is in favor of policies with which they disagree, but is a clear and present danger to liberal democracy itself. Again, I say: The fact that Mike Pence, Mark Milley, Mark Esper, John Kelly, and so many of the men and women who worked for Trump believe he is a threat to democracy ought to be the first and last pieces of context in Every. Single. Story."

Jonathan V. Last's full column for The Bulwark is available at this link.

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