Vice President Mike Pence will be put at the forefront of the 2024 GOP presidential nomination – if Donald Trump decides not to run.
Whether or not Pence has such ambitions, Trump’s continued influence suggests that success depends on his blessing.
Although Pence is more popular than prospects like Donald Trump Jr. or Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), this year’s vote by the president – more than any other seated commander-in-chief in history – makes it unlikely that anyone else will surpass it if they choose to running.
“There’s no one who would have a leg at Trump if he wanted to do it,” said Douglas Heye, former communications director of the Republican National Commission. Newsweek. He added that he thinks it’s too early to call a favorite, but as an opportunity for Trump, it’s hard to see anyone else prescribing a claim.
“Until Trump decides yes or no, he’s holding people back,” Heye said.
“Who will perform first if Trump is floating right out there? It would be hard for Pence to do that.”
Trump continues to insist that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ’victory is rigged by fraud, but has not provided evidence of widespread irregularities. Pence in his more restrained remarks, but did not break the president’s lines.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
The president’s potential role as a king-trainer in 2024 could provide additional motivation for Pence’s loyalty.
“Recently, former presidents have tended to be pushed into the post-presidency background, but I think Trump will be an exception. Trump will be one of the party’s biggest influencers, either as a future candidate or, in my opinion, more likely than a royal director,” said Richard Johnson, United Lecturer in State Policy and Politics at Queen Mary University, London.
“If the latter, his imprimatura immediately puts the candidate at the forefront of the nomination. I imagine a Pence candidate with Trump’s approval is very difficult to beat in a Republican nomination contest. I’m not sure Trump is back to Pence, but that certainly explains it. why is Pence doing everything to win Trump’s favor. “
Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images
Thomas Gift, a lecturer in political science and director of the American Center at University College London, said Newsweek he feels Pence has to cling to Trump.
“Pence, by definition, carries most of the baggage associated with Trump’s presidency. But if he wants to leave in 2024 – which doesn’t seem like a definite conclusion at all – leaving Trump will almost certainly make that offer unacceptable,” he said.
“Politically, Pence would be in the worst position in all situations: the anti-Trump would reject him because they had been in contact with their felt for a long time, while Trump wouldn’t support him because he turned his back on their hero.”
Clodagh Harrington, an associate professor of American politics at De Montfort University in Leicester, agrees that his loyalty to Pence Trump would be a key advantage if he started.
“He never tried to outdo Donald Trump, who could and never criticized,” he said., which suggests it would “play well” to the millions of voters who wanted a second Trump cycle.
In response to a poll that said many Republicans would support a Trump’s 2024 start, the president tweeted on Wednesday: “But 2020 is still far from over!”
John Owens, a professor of U.S. government and politics at Westminster University in London, said he thinks Trump will start in 2024.
“Once Trump has announced, the other candidates don’t have much chance of getting the nomination, so they may choose not to start,” Owens said, adding that if Trump chooses not to stand, the “candidate must pay obedience to Trump . “
Although Pence did not discuss plans for the next election, Trump was asked if in 2024 his vice president would be “automatically approved.”
“Well, that’s far too, look – I love Mike, we’re running again, but you’re talking for a long time, so you can’t put me in a situation like that,” said one. Fox & Friends interview last year.
“But I would definitely consider it. He’s a very, very outstanding man.”
Newsweek contacted the Trump campaign and the vice president’s office for comments.
