OnPolitics: Will Mike Pence run in 2024? Takeaways from our interview with the former VP

Former Vice President Mike Pence poses for a portrait during an interview. Pence released a new autobiography "So Help Me God" that chronicles his life and including his time in the Trump administration.
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Hello hello, OnPolitics readers!

Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page has interviewed any number of high-profile politicians; this week, she got to speak with former Vice President Mike Pence, who’s out on a book tour for a new memoir and raising his profile ahead of a potential 2024 presidential run.

Among the revelations in their interview: He and Trump haven’t spoken in over a year; Pence won’t commit to voting for a 2024 Trump ticket; and the formerly loyal Trump ally now sees “better choices” for a Republican choice of presidential nominee than Trump.

We spoke to Susan about some of the things she learned from the interview and what could be coming up for the former vice president.

What was most surprising to you about Mike Pence this time around?

That he was critical of Donald Trump. Once Trump asked Mike Pence to join him on the Republican ticket in 2016, he became unwaveringly supportive of him, at least in public. Even after the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, when Trump’s rhetoric endangered his vice president, Pence generally declined to speak out. But in our interview, Pence described Trump’s words then as “reckless” and said he had been angered by the way the then-president had put him and his family in harm’s way. He predicted the GOP would have “better choices” for the presidential nomination in 2024. He wasn’t even willing to say he would vote for Trump if he was the nominee.

Do you think he’ll run in 2024?

If he can. Pence’s new book, "So Help Me God," and his book tour is testing the waters for a presidential bid, I think. But he’s in a complicated place politically. Do never-Trumpers oppose him because he was so loyal, for so long? Do Trump supporters oppose him because he refused Trump’s entreaties to disrupt the ceremonial electoral ballot count on Jan. 6? Or do voters see him as someone who offers Trump policies without Trump’s bombast? In other words, that he offers Trumpism without Trump.

How has his thinking about the Trump administration appeared to have changed over time?

On policy, Pence still embraces Trump’s approach pretty much 100% – on economics, foreign policy, immigration. He defends Trump’s record in the White House. But he’s no longer embracing Donald Trump as a person, as a leader. That is what’s changed.

What message do you most want readers to take from your interview with him?

After hearing him as the loyal No. 2 to Trump for so long, Mike Pence is trying to break out as his own person. The question: Do Americans now see him as someone they’d want to elect to the top job?

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: OnPolitics: Will Vice President Mike Pence run in 2024?