Former Vice President Mike Pence is running against his old boss, former President Donald Trump.
Pence has been distancing himself from Trump since leaving office. Even before the presidential campaign, Pence was hosting competing rallies in the same location.
But on Saturday, Trump hit back at the ‘delusional’ Pence.
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“WOW, it’s finally happened! Liddle’ Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side,” Trump said Saturday on Truth Social.
“He’s delusional, and now he wants to show he’s a tough guy. I once read a major magazine article on Mike. It said he was not a very good person. I was surprised, but the article was right. Sad!”
Trump was referring to Pence’s reaction to some of the allegations against Trump. Earlier this month, Trump was indicted in Washington’s federal court on charges of — among other things — conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
According to the text of the indictment, Trump called Pence “too honest” for questioning the powers of the vice president and for restraining himself out of respect for procedure.
The text of the third indictment says —
On January 1, the Defendant [Trump] called the Vice President and berated him because he had learned that the Vice President had opposed a lawsuit seeking a judicial decision that, at the certification, the Vice President had the authority to reject or return votes to the states under the Constitution.
The Vice President responded that he thought there was no constitutional basis for such authority and that it was improper.
In response, the Defendant told the Vice President, “You’re too honest.”
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Pence began pouncing on the very day of the indictment.
“Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States,” Pence tweeted on Aug. 1. “Former President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution. I chose the Constitution and I always will.”
In other words, Pence positioned himself in stark contrast to other presidential candidates, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
After the indictment, Pence even began selling merch emblazoned with the slogan “too honest.”
Trump denied calling Pence “too honest.” He also took issue with Pence’s attempt to benefit from this indictment… and swiped at Pence’s lack of popularity in the GOP’s presidential primary.
“I never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution,” Trump said in the TruthSocial post. “Or that Mike was ‘too honest.'”
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Take a look —
NEW: Mike Pence selling “TOO HONEST” merch in wake of Trump indictment
According to the Special Counsel, Trump called Pence on New Year’s Day in 2021 and “berated him.” When Pence said he didn’t have the authority to return or reject votes, Trump told him, “You’re too honest.” pic.twitter.com/srGkmJWuMG
— Libby Cathey (@libbycathey) August 3, 2023
Pence, if elected, remains open to pardoning Trump. On the other hand, he’s also refused to commit to pardoning Trump.
“I don’t want to speak about hypotheticals,” Pence told CNN’s Dana Bash in June. “I’m not sure I’m going to be elected president of the United States. I believe we have a fighting chance.”
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Pence added, “There are real issues the American people are facing, and rather than talking about that [indictment], I want to talk about what the people here in Iowa are talking about, which is the failed policies of the Biden administration and the need for us to have new leadership in the White House and in our party.”
Plus, he’s described Trump’s actions as reckless, but not necessarily criminal. “The former president is entitled to the presumption of innocence,” Pence has said.
Today's indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) August 2, 2023
As President, I will end the weaponization of government, replace the FBI Director, and ensure a single standard of justice for all Americans.
While I’ve seen reports, I have not read the indictment. I do, though, believe we need to enact reforms so that Americans have the right…
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 1, 2023
The Horn editorial team