He had little chance, but he is the most important Republican candidate to throw in the towel to date. Former Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, announced on Saturday that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for the 2024 presidential election.
“I came to tell you “It has become clear to me: This is not my time,” said Mike Pence, addressing the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“After much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my presidential campaign effective immediately.
“We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regret,” Mr. Pence continued to a friendly audience, who nonetheless reacted with audible surprise to his announcement.
Mr. Pence therefore becomes the first major candidate to withdraw from the race which is still dominated by his former boss Donald Trump. His struggles underscore the extent to which Mr. Trump has transformed the party — a former vice president would normally have been considered a formidable opponent in any primary, but Mr. Pence has struggled to find a base of supporters.< /p>
The ex-vice president did not immediately offer his support to any of his rivals, but he continued to echo the language he used to criticize Mr. Trump.
p>
“I urge all my fellow Republicans to give our country a Republican leader who, as Lincoln said, will appeal to the better angels of our nature, and not only lead us to victory, but will lead our nation with graciousness.” , he said.
This decision allows Mr. Pence not to accumulate additional debt and avoid the embarrassment of failing to qualify for the third Republican primary debate, he said. which is to take place on November 8 in Miami.
Trump crushes the campaign
A fierce opponent of abortion, Mike Pence helped Donald Trump conquer the religious right by being his running mate during the 2016 presidential campaign.
After years of unwavering loyalty, he changed his tone the aftermath of the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, which shook American democracy.
And this 64-year-old evangelical Christian even decided to challenge his former boss in the 2024 Republican primaries .
But the chances of the former governor of Indiana quickly appeared very slim, with Republican activists loyal to the former president considering him a “traitor”.
It is because Mike Pence, who as vice-president, did not prevent the certification by elected officials of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election, for which Donald Trump and his faithful do not forgive him.
With Mike Pence's defection, seven major candidates remain seeking the Republican nomination and possibly challenging Democrat Joe Biden, who is up for re-election in November 2024.
Donald Trump, he is currently crushing the Republican campaign, despite the fact that he is the target of several legal proceedings, including a federal trial starting March 4 in Washington for trying to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election. .
The former president denounces his legal troubles as “electoral interference” at the instigation of the Biden administration to exclude him from the race for the White House.
< p>M. Trump is also being sued in New York state for suspicious payments to a former pornographic actress and in Florida for his negligent handling of confidential documents after leaving the White House.
With several of his children, the Republican billionaire is currently on civil trial in a New York State court for alleged financial fraud in the management of his real estate empire.