Pence distances himself from Trump as he eyes 2024 campaign

After Donald Trump was caught on video bragging about sexually assaulting women, Mike Pence stayed on his ticket. As the coronavirus ravaged the U.S., the then-vice president praised the administration’s response. And after a violent mob threatened his life during an attack on the U.S. Capitol, Pence rejected entreaties to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

But after years of being a subservient sidekick, Pence is beginning to distance himself from Trump as he takes increasingly overt steps toward a White House bid of his own.

Last month, Pence called out Trump by name, saying his former boss was “wrong” to insist that he had the power to unilaterally overturn the results of the 2020 election - a power vice presidents do not possess. In a separate speech before top Republican donors, Pence urged the GOP to move on from Trump’s 2020 grievances and declared “there is no room in this party for apologists” for Vladimir Putin after Trump praised the Russian leader’s maneuvering as “genius” before his brutal invasion of Ukraine.

The moves show how Pence, a former congressman and Indiana governor, is working to craft a political identity independent of his former boss. The strategy carries substantial risk in a party still dominated by Trump and his lie that the 2020 election was stolen. But if Pence successfully navigates this moment, it could offer a model for Republicans to benefit from their work with Trump without being tied to his most toxic behavior, which has consistently hurt the party with crucial suburban voters who often determine elections.

“When you’re in the role of vice president, there’s certain opportunities that affords and certainly certain constraints,” Marc Short, who served as Pence’s chief of staff at the White House, said of Pence’s recent moves. “You sort of assume a different identity for those four years because your job is to support the president and what he’s doing.”