Mike Pence officially launches his 2024 presidential candidacy in a debate with Republican Party voters live on CNN. “On January 6, I did my duty by defending the Constitution, while Trump was wrong and is still wrong today,” says the former US vice president. And he adds: «I am running for president because I believe the United States is in serious difficulty. Joe Biden has weakened America.” Federal prosecutors have notified the tycoon that he is the subject of a criminal investigation, for top-secret Mar-a-Lago files.
Meanwhile, the former president is at the center of the speeches of his former deputy: «I hope that Donald Trump will not be tried for the issue of classified papers. The trial of a former president would be a divisive act for an already divided America,” Pence points out. “I hope the former president and the current president find a way forward,” he said.
As for the orientations on life and family, Pence cuts it short: “I’m pro-life and I won’t apologize for that,” he said in response to a question on abortion. Pence also praised the US Supreme Court for its historic ruling a year ago that effectively abolished the right to abort abortion nationwide. “It gave America the chance for a new beginning. As president, I will support the right to life at every level, in the United States and abroad,” he added, claiming that during the Trump administration, funds to the Planned Parenthood organization, which supports the right to abortion, were cut off.
As for his past in the Trump administration, Pence specifies: «I am proud of the work done» but «the president and I have different visions of the future. On January 6, Trump put my family in danger and asked me to choose between him and the Constitution. I chose the constitution and always will. I had no right to overturn the outcome of the election, just as Kamala Harris will not have the right to do so when we win,” says Pence. “The Republican Party must be the party of the Constitution. We’ve had enough of Democrats’ trying to get around it. “Anyone who puts himself above the Constitution cannot be president. Anyone who defies the constitution should never be president,” Trump’s former deputy said.
