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Pence also said he was “always proud” of his role in confirming election results on Jan. 6 following a deadly riot by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol.
The remarks by the former vice president at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, are focused primarily on laying a pro-Trump platform for a potential White House to run on its own.
But Pence also offered an intense analysis of the former President’s claims, in the days and weeks before Jan. 6, about the alteration of election results in the official counting of election votes in Congress.
“The Constitution gives the vice president no authority to reject or return election votes submitted to the Congress of states,” Pence said, contradicting Trump’s claim at his Jan. 6 rally that his The vice president “can do the right thing” and reject the vote. count
Without mentioning Trump’s name, Pence said there are “those in our party” who believe that “any one person” can choose the president.
“The truth is, there is almost no idea that is more non-American than the notion that any one person can elect the president of America,” he said.
Trump continued to insist the election was stolen, and just this week told an interviewer that “he did not admit defeat” and was “extremely disappointed that (Pence) did not return it to lawmakers.”
On the contrary, Pence acknowledged the “failure” of the 2020 defeat.
“Now, I understand the frustration that many feel about the last election,” he said. “I can be linked. I’m on the ballot. But you know, there’s more at stake than our party and our political destiny at the moment. If we lose confidence in the Constitution, we’re not just going to lose the election – we’re going to lose the our country. “
This is the only clear break Pence has made from the President he has served faithfully for four years – and whose cloak he wants to take for himself in the 2024 presidential career. That goal is complicated by the open possibility that Trump could run again, and the blame that Trump’s most loyal supporters have described to Pence for its failure to overthrow the election.
Pence’s job is to distinguish himself from Trump as needed while still aligning himself with the Trump administration’s achievements that are most popular on the Republican base. He began that effort with a speech in South Carolina in April, which was his first public statement since leaving the presidency. Pence isn’t the only potential 2024 contender navigating around Trump’s legacy. Nikki Haley, who criticized Trump after Jan. 6, spoke at the honest party in Iowa on Thursday night, repeatedly sharing heated anecdotes about how she worked with him as ambassador to the UN.
While Pence is more reluctant to speak about Jan. 6 of April, his remarks Thursday night attempted to discuss, however dangerous, the false claims Trump has made. But in others, it appears that Pence is drawing closer to Trump and a Republican Party that is more made in the image of the 45th President.
Throughout the 45 -minute speech, the Indiana Republican introduced himself to Trump’s agenda on issues such as immigration, border security, goods, China and public safety. He was proud of the accomplishments of the “Trump-Pence administration” in office, calling on Republicans to combine their “traditional conservative priorities” with the “new pillars” of Trump’s agenda.
He also tried to reconcile Trump with Ronald Reagan, the former Republican President and conservative of the movement that Pence recognized for urging him to stay away from the Democratic Party in his youth.
“President Donald Trump is also one of a kind,” Pence said. “He also disrupted the status quo. He challenged the establishment. He inspired our movement, and he set a bold new course for America in the 21st century. And now, as then, nothing is coming back.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, Pence directs a lot of criticism at Democrats, including President Joe Biden’s note about immigration and his spending proposals. He followed the “legends of the left,” criticizing the cancellation of culture and efforts to “defend the police.” He also followed the use of critical race theory in school curricula – a popular target of Republican governors and lawmakers across the country.
“Our party must ensure that critical racial theory is expelled from our schools, our military and our public institutions,” Pence said.
But aside from shooting Democrats for “damaging” the American establishment, Pence offered a subtle warning for Republicans to stay on his defined “last line of defense” for the Constitution.
“We must make it clear that the Republican Party will always defend the principles that are at the heart of our republic,” Pence said, before setting aside defending his actions on Jan. 6, which he called a “dark day in Capitol history. of the United States. “
CNN’s David Wright contributed to this report.
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