COLUMBIA, S.C. — In his first public address since the end of the Trump administration, former Vice-President Mike Pence on Thursday put down a marker for a potential return to elected office, telling an audience in early-voting South Carolina that he will use the coming months “pushing back on the liberal agenda” he says is wrong for the country.
“We’ve got to guard our values … by offering a positive agenda to the American people, grounded in our highest ideals,” Pence told an audience of several hundred at a Columbia dinner sponsored by a conservative Christian non-profit that lobbies for what it considers to be “biblical values,” such as heterosexual marriage. “Now, over the coming months, I’ll have more to say about all of that.”
The choice of South Carolina for Pence’s post-administration debut has definite political overtones, helping him develop exposure for a potential 2024 presidential bid. The state holds the first presidential primaries in the South, and candidates of both major parties typically spend more than a year in the state ahead of those votes, introducing themselves and trying to secure support.
Republican candidates use South Carolina as a proving ground to test their anti-abortion-rights mettle. Thursday’s event, hosted by Palmetto Family Council, also gave Pence a backdrop for some of the issues for which he long advocated as an Indiana congressman-turned-governor, such as restrictions on abortion and support for the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Palmetto Family most recently helped push through a ban on most South Carolina abortions, a law now being challenged in federal court.
“We will stand with the right of every American, of every faith, to live, to work, to speak and to worship according to the dictates of their conscience,” Pence said.
Pence, who since leaving office has been doing work with the Heritage Foundation and Young America’s Foundation, has not indicated if he plans a future run. As vice-president, he made numerous trips to South Carolina, meeting several times with Gov. Henry McMaster for coronavirus-related forums and campaigning in the state for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace.
But the question is whether Pence’s former boss still looms large for the possible Republican field. Former President Donald Trump has not explicitly stated his plans but has teased a possible bid. On Thursday morning, asked on Fox Business about running in 2024, Trump said he’s “100%” thinking about it and would even possibly consider Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as his running mate.
Earlier this month, another possible GOP contender, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, said when asked about 2024 by The Associated Press that she would stand down if Trump opted to run again. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has launched an aggressive schedule, visiting states that will play a pivotal role in the 2024 primaries and signing a contract with Fox News Channel. DeSantis has been courting donors, including in Trump’s backyard, with a prominent speaking slot before the former president at a GOP fundraising retreat dinner this month at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort where Trump now lives.
Earlier Thursday, South Carolina Democratic Chair Trav Robertson said Pence was coming to the state to “try and salvage his relationship” with Trump supporters irked that Pence didn’t support efforts to block certification of the 2020 presidential election.
On Thursday, Pence promised to reveal more of his ideas soon, promising that he would be challenging the Biden administration’s “avalanche of liberal policies” as he ramps up speaking engagements around the country.
“We have the winning agenda,” Pence told Thursday’s crowd. “And now it’s incumbent upon us to take that winning agenda to the American people.”
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Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report.
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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.
© 2021 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
This Socialist Democrat Party, Betrayal Biden and his handlers have become our
country’s most destructive and deadliest ENEMY.
AND Pence can go take a hike, since he HELPED THE LEFT steal the election.
he’s a bloody fool if he thinks we conservatives will give him our vote.
If Trump doesn’t run again, I want DeSantis. The problem is the voter fraud. I do not believe a Republican can win the White House with the voter fraud.
Why do you think the left’s working so hard to GET HR1 passed.. TO ENSURE Their voter fraud is codified into law, and thus ensure they never again lose an election.
Yes him and Nikki would make a good team. We need a woman on them because of kalama.
Nicki haley?? Are you kidding? She has recently shown her rino colors.
Sorry backpacker, you can’t have him. We still need him in Florida!
If he were president, Florida and the rest of the country would have him.
IF hes president he can serve the ENTIRE nation, not just florida..
So the last election was unquestionably rigged by and for Democrats, the Supreme Court is in hiding as far as any election-rigging is concerned, and the Media calls anyone to the right of Karl Marx a Fascist, but all these Republicans want to spend millions to run for POTUS – Why??
We are only about one step away (2-A gun control) from having a second civil war or becoming a full-blown communist dictatorship.
I like Pence, however I don’t think he has the right temperament for the job of POTUS.
We need someone who will tell the Left to go themselves.
He might as well be a pastor somewhere where he doesn’t have to have a backbone ……… there are a few good ones out there
He showed us he has no spine, when he shafted us and trump, by certifying the election fraud, as OK.
RINO Pence ignored his Constitutional DUTY to obstruct Election Fraud and, is not qualified to clean the Swamp or, toilets!
COMMENTPence is a sellout and a deep state supporter. He can care less about America anymore and will not do anything if he’s president. He didn’t do anything to help prove voter fraud. He stands w/Haley & Graham who are both Rinos. The only two good names in the article are Trump & DeSantis.
I’d add in Tim scott to that list.
Pence is a traitor and should be held for treason , a real piece of work.
I am tired of those Republicans who fail to stand behind the Republican President at the very most important times when their vote was critical to conservative values, like the issue of abortion which many conservatives completely condemned and didn’t want Supreme Court Justices over ruling their religious beliefs and their objections. I Am tired of ” Rino Republicans, the ” Never Trumpers, ” voting with the democrat representatives when a important conservative piece of legislation was critical to be passed that represented Republican conservative values. Let us as conservatives, make sure the next election isn’t won because the “Rino Republicans and the ” Never Trumpers, don’t win as Joe Biden and the Leftist Democrat party this last election.
Waste of time, Pence. Go home and retire.
The Republican Swamp Creatures™ revealed themselves when they stepped back and refused to lift a finger against the obvious election fraud that was used to oust Trump. No Republican who looked the other way during that coup deserves any support.