There’s been a bit of recent reporting out there suggesting that Trump is considering dropping Pence as his VP if he runs in 2024.
In fact I would have assumed that after what happened in January, with Trump throwing Pence under the bus like he did, that the reporting would be true.
But Team Trump’s Jason Miller told Mediaite that this is not even close to being true:
Despite reporting to the contrary, one member of former President Donald Trump’s inner circle says there have been no discussions about dumping former Vice President Mike Pence in 2024.
Speaking with Mediaite’s Aidan McLaughlin on this week’s episode of The Interview, Trump adviser Jason Miller suggested surrogates of Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) were behind Bloomberg’s report — which Miller said was incorrect.
“I wonder who was pushing this story? Could it maybe be the supporters of Governor Noem?” Miller said facetiously — before stressing that he did not want to “take anything away” from Noem.
Miller noted that the former president has “kept his cards pretty close to the vest” vis-a-vis 2024, but insisted that Pence is not currently in danger of getting the hook, and that the former vice president is on good terms with Trump.
“I can tell you, as someone who probably speaks with him on the political side as much, if not more than anybody else, never once has there been a conversation internally or in a group about doing something different for the VP position for 2024 if he decides to go that route,” Miller said. He added, “President Trump and Vice President Pence have had a couple of really good conversations since President Trump left office.”
Miller also strongly disagreed that Trump supporters who are still angry at Pence for certifying the election results would diss the Trump ticket all because Pence is on it:
McLaughlin noted that CPAC attendees he encountered last weekend are still upset with Pence for certifying the electoral college vote — as he was Constitutionally bound to do. But Miller rejected the notion that those who are sore at Pence right now would not cast a ballot with him on the bottom of the ticket in four years.
“I realize that some Trump supporters might be a little bit frustrated with the former vice president,” Miller said. “He’s a great guy. He’s been a loyal ally, loyal teammate. And I think President Trump still has pretty high regard and fondness for Vice President Pence.
There’s a lot of time between now and 2024 and a lot could happen before Trump decides whether he’s going to run or pick a successor, if you will. But at least as of right now, the rumors about Trump dumping Biden are not true. We’ll see if that holds out into the future.