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This article may contain commentary
\nwhich reflects the author’s opinion.<\/p>\n
Former Vice President Mike Pence wants to be a \u201cconstructive force for the conservative agenda\u201d during President Trump\u2019s second term because he is one of the few Republicans who is ready to formally challenge Trump.<\/p>\n
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\nEven though Pence and Trump had a public fight after the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he said he would support the new Trump administration on issues he agreed with and disagreed with on others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, for me, it\u2019s always principles first. It\u2019s not personal,\u201d Pence said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
Advancing American Freedom, Pence\u2019s political action committee, spent almost $1 million on ads against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump\u2019s new Health and Human Services Secretary.<\/p>\n
The former vice president said that people who work for him and him got \u201ca lot of quiet encouragement\u201d to stand up against Kennedy. As Pence put it, the \u201cnomination of an abortion rights supporter to be secretary of HHS is a dramatic departure from 50 years of strong pro-life leadership at HHS under Republican administrations.\u201d He felt he had to speak out against this.<\/p>\n
Asked why Republicans might be reluctant to oppose Trump publicly, Pence said, \u201cI never speculate on motives. You know, I\u2019m not new to town. I\u2019ve waged lonely battles before.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\u201cBut you know, you have to be willing to step out and lead,\u201d the former vice president said. \u201cMy hope is that when the next issue of life comes up, that people will have been encouraged, emboldened to know that they\u2019re not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pence has been lobbying Congress members and giving speeches in which he urges Trump to stand with long-time allies. At the same time, his staff has been writing letters and opinion columns.<\/p>\n
Advancing American Freedom aims to commend the administration when they align with it, while voicing their concerns when they don\u2019t, championing traditional conservative values they feel have been overshadowed by Trump\u2019s \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d populism.<\/p>\n
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\n\u201cWe\u2019re calling balls and strikes here,\u201d Pence told the AP. \u201cI think that the way we want to approach this is with integrity to principle. And I\u2019m very encouraged. I think the Trump administration is off to a great start\u2026 I\u2019m very pleased about the president undoing Biden\u2019s border policies and putting back into place the policies that we had negotiated and established that secured the border.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pence also told a bizarre story of how he met a man in Iowa who told him that he should run for president in 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he goes, \u2018But I\u2019ll see you in four years. You\u2019re going to be a great president someday,’\u201d Pence claimed the man said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018Would you mind telling me, you know, why?\u2019 And he said words I never forgot, which was in effect: He lamented Biden\u2019s failed record. And I saw that he was drawn to the need for a rematch. And then he said, \u2018Plus, if they can do that to a former president, they can do that to me.\u2019 And the \u2018lawfare\u2019 stuff went into higher relief,\u201d Pence added.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I didn\u2019t see in this last election a Republican Party that was embracing big government or a vision to pull back from America\u2019s commitments on the world stage or marginalizing the right to life. I didn\u2019t see that traveling all over the country and I still don\u2019t see it. I think there were other factors that gave the former president a decided advantage in the election. He\u2019d earned it. He\u2019d won it. And then he won it in the fall. But I don\u2019t think the party\u2019s changed,\u201d Pence told the AP.<\/p>\n
Pence told the AP that he went to Trump\u2019s Inauguration last month and \u201cwas very moved in the outpouring of kind words and expressions of appreciation from former colleagues, including many members of the new administration who I encountered in hallways.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he saw Trump\u2019s new secretary of state, Marco Rubio, Pence said he hugged him and \u201ctold him how proud I was of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had praised him from here when he was selected,\u201d Pence told the AP. \u201cI must have seen or interacted with about half the incoming Cabinet.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, Pence said he had a \u201cvery cordial exchange\u201d with Trump. When Trump was coming down the front row of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Pence recalled him saying, \u201cHi, Mike.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pence said he extended his hand to Trump and said, \u201cCongratulations, Mr. President,\u201d and \u201cI could see his countenance softened. And he said, \u2018Thanks.\u2019\u201d Pence said he also congratulated First Lady Melania Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, the people that know me know it\u2019s not personal,\u201d Pence told the AP. \u201cI\u2019ve long since forgiven the president for any differences that we had at the end of our administration. We still have those differences as the president still holds the view that, to my knowledge, that I had some authority that I did not have under the Constitution or laws of the country. But from my heart, I\u2019ve prayed often for the president.\u201d<\/p>\n
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