Former Vice President Mike Pence is standing firm on his decision regarding whether he will support his 2016 running mate and former President Donald Trump.
After briefly running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Pence stated that he would not be supporting Trump this time around, citing differences in their conservative policies. Pence’s relationship with Trump soured after the January 6 riots, during which Trump criticized him for not returning disputed electoral slates to state legislatures in his role as president of the Senate. Pence emphasized that his decision should not come as a surprise.
“It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year. I’m incredibly proud of the record of our administration. It was a conservative record that made America more prosperous, more secure, and saw conservatives appointed to our courts in a more peaceful world,” Pence said on Fox News.
Pence also stated that Trump was not upholding his conservative principles this time around, like his commitment to reducing the national debt and protecting the “sanctity of human life.”
He also noted that Trump’s recent comments about China and his decision not to ban TikTok in the U.S. mark a major change from his previous strong stance against the Chinese-controlled social media platform during his presidency.
“What I’m going to spend the rest of this year on is talking about what we should be for. And that is the broad mainstream conservative agenda that’s defined our party and always made America strong and prosperous and free,” he said.
Additionally, Pence recently disclosed that he is launching a $10 million campaign to extend the Trump-era tax cuts that will expire in 2019. He is doing this to urge conservatives to stay in the fight until the election in November.
Advancing American Freedom put out a 13-page plan on Thursday that makes its case to lawmakers and voters in key states, especially those that could decide who controls the Senate, the Associated Press reported.
The paper says, “We will be asking conservative leaders to join us in this fight.”
The group is advocating for a long campaign lasting until 2025, during which the White House and Congress will need to decide whether to make changes to the tax code or retain the 2017 tax policies introduced during President Donald Trump’s administration.
Many individual tax provisions are set to expire after 2025 if no action is taken.
The outcome relies heavily on the party in control of the White House, House, and Senate. President Joe Biden aims to maintain the tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 annually, while increasing the business tax rate and imposing higher taxes on the wealthy.
On the other hand, Trump, the presumed Republican presidential candidate, also intends to preserve tax cuts for numerous families but desires to reduce the business tax rate from 21% to 20%.
