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Theres a popular saying in politics that goes like this: Never wrestle with a pig. You get filthy, and the pig enjoys it.

Mike Pence may have gained new appreciation for that metaphor recently when he flopped into the mud pit with his former boss, Donald Trump, who plucked him from the heartland in 2016 to become his vice-presidential running mate.

Pence was a beleaguered candidate in his reelection bid for Indianas governor when Trump was trying to shore up flagging support among evangelical voters. The GOP presidential nominee tapped Pence as the guy to give him a boost with that critical conservative voting bloc.

The partnership worked out well for both Trump and Pence at least for a while. Trump won a tight election to become president, and Pence became vice president.

But Trumps piggishness is never far from the surface. Having lost his reelection bid in 2020 to Joe Biden, Trump encouraged Pence to violate his constitutional oath and refuse to certify Bidens Electoral College victory in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. Pence declined, triggering a riot on Capitol Hill by an angry mob of Trump supporters encouraged by Trump himself. The mob even erected a gallows outside and chanted Hang Mike Pence as they trashed the Capitol building and temporarily halted the peaceful transfer of power.

The partnership hasnt been the same ever since. Trump viewed his VPs refusal to cooperate with his attempted coup as a betrayal. Pence was slow to respond, but eventually expressed his anger and disappointment about the predicament foisted upon him that day.

Pence is now mulling a primary run for president in 2024. With Trump already a declared candidate, Pence treads carefully when criticizing the former president. But he isnt staying quiet.

Pence, at a recent media banquet, increased the intensity of his ire toward Trump over what happened on Jan. 6.

President Trump was wrong, Pence said at the event. I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.

It didnt take long for Trump to retaliate.

Had he sent the votes back to the legislatures, they wouldnt have had a problem with Jan. 6, so in many ways you can blame him for Jan. 6, Trump told the Washington Post.

Pences new tone with Trump demonstrates a willingness to challenge the former president for his actions on Jan. 6. But we cant ignore the fact that Pence was often complacent and compliant during Trumps presidency. As Trump grew bolder in flouting the rule of law, Pences courage was not on display, at least not publicly.

When news broke last weekend that Trump was expecting to be indicted in the 2016 scheme to pay hush money to an adult film actress over an alleged affair years earlier and declare it as a campaign legal expense, Pence wasnt as willing to hold Trump accountable. Rather, he adopted the partisan position of suggesting Trump was being treated unfairly.

It just feels like a politically charged prosecution here, Pence said during a news show.

Once again, Pence is his former bosss apologist and defender.

Will history judge Mike Pence as a hero with regard to Trumps worst instincts?

While the vice president did the right thing standing up to Trumps undemocratic and illegal actions of Jan. 6, 2021, Pences legacy remains far more complicated.

Tribune-Star, Terre Haute

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Editorial: How will history view Mike Pence? | Opinion ... - Kokomo Tribune

Putin visits occupied city of Mariupol

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the port city of Mariupol, Russian state news agencies reported on Sunday morning, in what would mark his first trip to Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed in September.

AP

WASHINGTONFormer Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday showed the sharpest division yet with his former boss, predicting "better choices" than Donald Trump for president in 2024.

When pressed about whether the former president's actions and inaction on Jan. 6 disqualify him from being commander-in-chief again, Pence said on ABC's "This Week" he was let down, but it's ultimately a decision for the American people.

And he implied they wouldn't choose Trump for president again.

GOP 2024: Which Republicans are running for president? Who has yet to announce? Who's considering?

Pence continued the independent streak he displayed during the recent Gridiron dinner in Washington last weekend, whenhe first said history will hold Trump accountable for Jan. 6, 2021. On Sunday, he reiterated that point and implied 2024 voters may hold him accountable, too.

"Again, he's running for election but as I go around the country, I'm convinced the American people have learned the lessons of that day...," Pence told ABC anchor Jonathan Karl. "They know what happened and they know the fact that the president's reckless words endangered people at the Capitol that day, including me and my family. I believe they'll factor all of that in as they make decisions going forward in this country."

Pence said he was "angry" on Jan. 6 and has been working on forgiveness for a while.

"The president let me down that day," Pence said. "He let the country down that day."

Previous: Pence says history will hold Trump 'accountable' for Jan. 6, rebukes him for endangering his family

When asked if he could ever support Trump for president again, Pence said "that's yet to be seen."

"I must tell you that I think we'll have better choices," he said in one of his sharpest criticisms.

Pence did not say if he is running for the Republican nomination in 2024, but he expects to decide soon.

Donald Trump: 'In many ways' you could blame Jan. 6 violence on ... Mike Pence

Trump on Saturday morning claimed he would be arrested Tuesday and urged supporters to protest and "take our nation back," echoing a similar message he spread ahead of Jan. 6.

Pence on Sunday urged calm. "I believe that people understand that if they give voice to this, if this occurs on Tuesday, that they need to do so peacefully and in a lawful manner."

What we know: Is Donald Trump likely to be arrested soon? Will he be indicted?

Candy Woodall is a Congress reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at cwoodall@usatoday.comor on Twitter at @candynotcandace.

Originally posted here:
Mike Pence 2024 pick: Predicts 'better choices' than Trump - USA TODAY

RICHMOND, VA Tomorrow, Donald Trumps former vice president, Mike Pence, will be visiting Lexington to tout his MAGA Republican record and attempt to lay the groundwork for a 2024 presidential campaign.

Mike Pence has already announced many of his policy positions for a potential 2024 campaign, including his support for any anti-choice legislation, no matter how restrictive, and the partial privatization of Social Security, echoing extreme calls from Republicans that could put this critical program at risk. In fact, every single year that Mike Pence and Donald Trump held the White House, their administration introduced a budget that called for cuts to Medicare and Social Security.

Mike Pences visit to Virginia tomorrow is a slap in the face to the thousands of Virginians who rely on Social Security and Medicare, said Liam Watson, Press Secretary for the Democratic Party of Virginia. Pences fundamentalist opposition to both common sense and good governance apparently also extends to some of the most essential programs operated by the federal government programs aimed at helping the most vulnerable among us.

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Mike Pence To Visit Virginia, Tout Far-Right Record - Democratic Party of Virginia

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) Top Republicans, including some of Donald Trumps potential rivals for the GOPs 2024 presidential nomination, rushed to his defense Saturday after Trump said he is bracing for possible arrest.

The idea of indicting a former president of the United States is deeply troubling to me as it is to tens of millions of Americans, said former Vice President Mike Pence, a likely Trump rival, during a visit to Iowa, an early-voting state. Tech investor Vivek Ramaswamy, campaigning in South Carolina, said he didnt want to live in a country where the party in power is able to use police force to arrest its political opposition.

The reaction underscores the political risks faced by would-be opponents who are eager to convince voters that it is time to move on from the former president, but who must contend with the fact that he remains the most popular figure in the party. The multiple investigations Trump is facing his post on social media about the Manhattan district attorneys probe led to the public declarations of support remain deeply unpopular with his supporters and criticizing Trump too harshly risks alienating his loyal base.

Trump garnered similar support last summer after the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago club as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents. The search also proved a fundraising boon.

Among those coming to Trumps defense were House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who said a possible indictment would be an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against Trump.

McCarthy, R-Calif., said he would direct relevant GOP-led House committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions. McCarthy has not endorsed Trumps White House campaign, but Trump helped McCarthy secure the speakership after a contentious campaign that required multiple rounds of voting.

New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking House Republican and an early Trump endorser, said action by the district attorney would be unAmerican.

The comments came hours after Trump claimed in a social media post that he expects to be arrested this coming week as New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg mulls charges in an investigation into hush money payments to women who alleged sexual encounters with Trump. A Trump lawyer and spokesman said Saturday that Trump, who has long denied the charges, had been responding in that post to media reports and had no independent knowledge of any pending legal action.

Trump, in a message on his Truth Social network, nonetheless declared that, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. He then called on his supporters to PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!! recalling the pleas he made before the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Any potential violence spurred by Trumps comments could change the tenor of reaction. But on Saturday, several of Trumps declared and potential rivals were quick to blast the district attorneys investigation.

Pence, who has been escalating his criticism of the former president in recent weeks, said the news was particularly troubling, happening in what appears to be a politically-charged environment in New York where the attorney general and other elected officials literally campaigned on a pledge to prosecutor the former president.

No one is above the law, he added. Im confident President Trump can take care of himself. My focus is going to continue to be on the issues that are affecting the American people.

Pence had been noncommittal when asked Thursday if Trump should drop out if he is indicted. I think its a free country. Everybody can make their own decisions, he said.

Trump has said he would continue his presidential campaign even if indicted.

Ramaswamy, who is already a declared candidate, earlier called on Bragg to reconsider.

A Trump indictment would be a national disaster, Ramaswamy tweeted. It is un-American for the ruling party to use police power to arrest its political rivals.

Representatives for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another potential candidate who is seen as Trumps most serious rival, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday a decision publicized by a super PAC supporting Trumps candidacy. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, another declared candidate, did not address the investigation while campaigning in South Carolina.

Ramaswamy called on Haley and DeSantis to join him in condemning the possible indictment.

Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who won his race in 2022 with Trumps endorsement, said he had been asked by multiple reporters if an indictment would lead him to rescind support for Trumps campaign.

The answer is: hell no. A politically motivated prosecution makes the argument for Trump stronger, he tweeted. We simply dont have a real country if justice depends on politics.

Prosecutors have been investigating hush money payments made to two women who alleged sexual encounters with Trump decades ago. A grand jury has been hearing from witnesses including former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who says he orchestrated payments in 2016 to the women in exchange for their silence.

Trump denies the encounters and has cast the investigation as a witch hunt by a Democratic prosecutor bent on sabotaging Trumps latest presidential campaign. Trump has said he believes an indictment would help him in the 2024 race.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a longtime ally, said he agreed.

The prosecutor in New York has done more to help Donald Trump get elected, Graham said Saturday at the Vision 24 conference in North Charleston, South Carolina. Theyre doing this because theyre afraid of Donald Trump.

___

Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Holly Ramer in Keene, New Hampshire, and Michelle R. Smith in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

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Deeply troubling: Mike Pence concerned about possible Donald Trump arrest - AL.com

To the editor: After four years of sycophantic devotion to President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence followed the Constitution on Jan. 6, 2021, as he was required to do. We credit him for that. (Following the law on Jan. 6 was the least Pence could do. Why are we praising him? Opinion, March 14)

Two years later, Pence has expressed anger and assigned blame to Trump, but as columnist Jonah Goldberg points out, he has refused interviews by the Justice Department and the House Jan. 6 committee. Why would Pence want to protect Trump, who put his familys lives in danger on Jan. 6?

Goldberg knows that making political calculations is part of running for office. I believe that Pence anticipated succeeding Trump. He has been trying to position himself as the least antagonistic to pro- and anti-Trumpers, and favored by independents.

We are a divided nation that needs honest, transparent, non-discriminatory public servants. I dont see Pence like that.

Gilbert H. Skopp, Calabasas

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To the editor: Goldberg is choosing not to see the obvious. Our country is divided into three voting factions, not two: the MAGA crowd, the Democrats and the undecideds, who these days seem to include voters we used to call Republicans.

No candidate can win the presidency with the votes of only one of these groups.

Republicans running for president must please both the MAGA crowd and some undecideds. This requires them to say things they dont really believe, as well as things they really do believe.

The guessing game, particularly for the undecideds, lies in figuring out which statements the candidates believe, and which ones they dont. There is no chance the candidates will actually tell them, or will be consistent in what they say, because that would mean winning some votes, but losing others.

June Ailin Sewell, Marina del Rey

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To the editor: How is Goldberg sure that Pence wanted to do the right thing on Jan. 6?

I remember reading multiple stories about Pence asking conservative leaders if he had any power to throw the election to Trump. Former Vice President Dan Quayle was reported as responding that Pence didnt have the authority to change the election results.

A lifelong Democrat, I am shocked to find myself thankful for Quayle, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) for standing up for the truth.

Only in the last two decades has the GOP devolved into a win-at-all-costs party. God help us all if it takes over the entire federal government again.

Cathy Gregory, Lompoc

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To the editor: I was very relieved that Pence decided to do the right thing on Jan. 6. Since then, I have been disgusted by his cowardice.

No husband or father that I know, whose wife and child were put in danger on Jan. 6, would have so little to say starting Jan. 7. Pences reluctance to talk to the Justice Department or the House Jan. 6 committee has been very telling to me about his lack of character.

Donna Henley, Chino

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Letters to the Editor: Mike Pence did the right thing on Jan. 6, and ... - Los Angeles Times