Former Vice President Mike Pence speaking in Nebraska in September 2021 (Wikimedia Commons)
Former Vice President Mike Pence offered a grim outlook for his one-time running mate, Donald Trump, should things go poorly for the GOP, per a report from the Daily Beast, echoing the president's own recent predictions.
Pence previously served as vice president during Trump's first term and ran for reelection alongside him in his failed 2020 campaign. His refusal to go along with Trump's plan to overturn the results of that race by not certifying them in Congress led to a severe falling out between the two, with January 6 Capitol rioters infamously calling for Pence to be hanged. Since then, Pence has emerged as a vocal critic of Trump's continued political machinations, decrying him for drifting away from traditional conservative values and Constitutional law.
On Thursday, Pence appeared on CNN and told host Kaitlin Collins that he concurred with Trump's recent prediction that he would be impeached if Democrats take back the House majority in the 2026 midterms, as they are widely expected to do. Pence suggested that, whatever the circumstances, Democrats would "very likely" find some ground on which to launch impeachment proceedings.
“I think it’s very likely,” Pence said. “I mean, they impeached the president for a phone call when we were in office, and I expect it in this highly divided, partisan town.”
Pence referred to Trump's first impeachment from 2020, after he was accused of extorting Ukrainian leaders for dirt on Hunter Biden in exchange for foreign aid. Trump became the first president ever impeached twice in 2021 following his involvement in the events of January 6. Both times, Republicans were able to vote down his conviction in the Senate, preventing him from being removed from office and barred from running in the future.
As Trump has moved more and more in his second term to seize powers delegated to Congress, act without congressional approval and use his office to personally enrich himself, Democrats have raised the prospect of impeachment countless times. Though these threats have been prevented from moving forward due to GOP majorities in the House and Senate, Trump's skyrocketing unpopularity with voters has increased the odds of Democrats retaking the House in 2026, which would clear the way for a third impeachment.
“You gotta win the midterms,” Trump said at a speech on Tuesday marking the fifth anniversary of January 6. “Because if we don’t win the midterms, it’s just going to be, I mean, they’ll find a reason to impeach me. I’ll get impeached.”
Though fewer pundits predict that Democrats will be able to retake the Senate, the idea is gradually becoming more plausible as Trump continues to alienate voters. His potential conviction following impeachment, however, would remain a tall order, as it would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
