Pence says 2024 decision will come 'after the 1st of the year'

DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Vice President Mike Pence said that he and his family would decide on a possible run for president “after the first of the year” during a stop at the Iowa State Fair on Friday.

“After the first of the year, my family and I will do as we’ve always done, and that is reflect and pray on where we might next serve, where we might contribute,” Pence said, after being asked if he would run in 2024.

The comment from the typically reserved and scripted Pence seemed to mark a shift from just a few months ago, when allies were talking up a possible spring 2023 launch. But a Pence adviser said Friday not to read too much into Pence’s comment, saying the timeline for a decision hadn’t changed.

Pence’s most recent stop in Iowa comes as the 2024 race is fast approaching. Republican operatives in Washington and Iowa have noted an uptick in support for a possible White House bid by former President Donald Trump after the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida on Aug. 8 and retrieved 27 boxes of classified and top secret documents he had taken from the White House.

The FBI search, and Trump’s decision to shift away from his 2020 election loss to berating federal law enforcement, reinvigorated Trump’s expected run for president. But Republican operatives, behind the scenes, have been stewing about the mounting legal troubles for Trump, and a growing urge from grassroots Republicans for a candidate like Trump but without the clear vulnerabilities.

Pence has been making all the moves of someone planning a bid for president, notably meeting with potential voters at the Iowa State Fair — the only other possible contender to do the fair this year was Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who flipped pork chops last week with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds while meeting voters.

Pence spent Friday headlining a fundraiser for Sen. Chuck Grassley, before jogging through a rainstorm with the longtime Republican senator. Pence said again that he would consider an offer to testify before the House Jan. 6 committee if it formally invited him, but also decried what he deemed the “partisan” character of the panel.

“It’s reflected more of a partisan nature throughout,” Pence said of the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. “I think it’s been a missed opportunity for the American people to come together to learn the lessons of that day and make sure that never happens again.”

Pence also said that he is “deeply troubled” that the FBI searched Trump’s home and requested more answers from Attorney General Merrick Garland. But he added, “I think the calls to defund the FBI are just as wrong as calls to defund the police.

“We should recognize we can hold the attorney general and the Justice Department accountable, we can demand that they reveal why the search warrant was executed against the residence of a former president of the United States, without demeaning the rank-and-file men and women of the FBI,” Pence said. “And I’m gonna continue to be a voice for that.”

Thumbnail credit: Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images