Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrives to speak at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 28, 2023.
Steve Marcus | Reuters
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that he would not endorse his former boss for president in the 2024 election.
Pence revealed the decision during an interview on Fox News. “I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year,” the Republican said.
Pence’s announcement came as Trump secured enough Republican delegates this week to clinch the party’s nomination.
Trump “is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years,” said Pence.
“As I have watched his candidacy unfold, I’ve seen him walking away from our commitment to confronting the national debt,” Pence said. “I’ve seen him starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life.
“And this last week, his reversal on getting tough on China and supporting our administration’s effort to force a sale of ByteDance TikTok application,” Pence noted.
Trump recently reversed his long-held position on whether TikTok should be permitted to continue operating in the United States under the ownership of China-based ByteDance.
Pence mounted his own run for president against Trump and a crowded field of Republican hopefuls, but dropped out in October 2023 after his campaign failed to gain traction with GOP primary voters.
Pence added Friday that he would “never vote” for Democratic President Joe Biden, who also secured his party’s nomination in March 12 primary contests.
“I’m going to keep my vote to myself,” said Pence.
Pence served as Trump’s vice president for their single term in office, from January 2017 through January 2021.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Pence and congressional lawmakers were forced to flee Senate and House chambers when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol complex.
Trump had urged his followers that morning to march to the Capitol and protest the certification of Biden’s victory in the 2020 election over him.
As the mob breached the Capitol security fence and attacked law enforcement, Pence was inside presiding over a joint session of Congress meeting to ratify Electoral College votes.
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed reporting to this story.