Former Vice President Mike Pence has been distancing himself from his former boss, Donald Trump. He scheduled an an appearance at a Monday rally for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, instead of the Trump-endorsed candidate running to unseat Kemp this year.
Now, a new report shows Pence eyeing a competition with Trump.
Pence has been fielding questions about 2024… and he just declined to rule out a presidential run.
“We’ll go where we’re called,” Pence told The New York Times in an interview published Monday. “That’s the way Karen and I have always approached these things.”
The Times described Pence as breaking his “alliance of convenience” with the former president after four years of “service bordering on subservience.”
Still, Pence expressed pride in his time with the Trump administration. During the interview, he described himself as “incredibly proud of the record.”
Pence gave the interview last month before a speech in Iowa, the site of the first presidential caucus.
Some presidential contenders have committed to standing aside in 2024, rather than running against Trump. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told the Associated Press last year, “I would not run if Trump ran.”
Meanwhile, other potential candidates have refused to rule out a run against Trump.
“I don’t think it ends the primary,” New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said, according to the Times. “My sense is you’re still going to have a very robust primary here just because everyone has to earn it.”
“Given the problems that the country is facing at home and abroad, if you only feel up for it if somebody else doesn’t run, well, then you better not run,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said, according to the Times. “Everybody who is considering running for president in ’24 should have a moral obligation to make that decision regardless of who else runs.”
Since the interview, Pence has joined the second group.
He will appear speak with Kemp outside Atlanta at 6 p.m. E.T., and he may make more announcements.