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Editing/Lacquer
"President Trump is wrong. I have no right to overturn the election results. After four years as the man behind Trump, former US Vice President Pence finally "rebelled" once, rarely refuting his former boss in public.
Pence could not hold his breath to respond, and the reason was the 2020 US presidential election. After losing the election for more than a year, Trump is still uneasy. In late January, he issued another statement accusing the vice president of not using that power when he could have overturned the election results when he certified the electoral votes.
Pence's response apparently provoked trump's greater anger. Until Feb. 9, Mr. Trump had been chattering about elections almost every day, with two of the statements naming Pence.
Trump issued a statement in response to Pence's refutation
Despite his cautious defense, Pence made it clear that "the idea that any one person can choose the president of the United States is very un-American." ”
The near-blunt revolt got the point — representing Pence's sharpest criticism of Trump to date.
But when the pull of centrifugal devotion is put on the table, the most likely to suffer losses is Pence's political path.
The former president tore the former vice president apart
Even if all social accounts are banned, Trump's desire to express cannot be dissolved.
He used the website of his political action committee, Save America, as a tweet, posting several statements a day, ranging from one sentence to several paragraphs long. The content is nothing more than criticizing political opponents and opponents, endorsing other politicians, or simply expressing emotions.
On January 29, 2022, Trump spoke at the "Save America" political rally in Texas
In the election-related statement, Pence was shot first.
The reason is that the two parties are seeking to amend a law, the Electoral Count Act, which was introduced in 1887 to cover the procedure for Congress to count electoral votes after a presidential election. Under the draft, the law will be amended to make it clear that the vice president cannot reject electoral votes in any state and ensure that states cannot re-appoint electors to change the outcome of the election after Election Day.
This made Trump suddenly find a logical loophole - want to change the law to prevent the vice president from changing the election results? Doesn't that mean "Pence originally had the right to change the outcome, and they now want to take that power away." But in fact, the law does not give the vice president the power to change the outcome. During the vote count, the vice president plays a ceremonial role.
In response to Trump on February 4, Pence refrained, saying only, "Under the Constitution, I have no right to change the outcome of the election." When we (republicans) defeat Democrats in 2024, Harris doesn't have that power either. ”
Tennessee's electoral votes are certified
"I know a lot of people were disappointed with the outcome of the election and I voted for it myself, but anyway, I knew we did our part that day." He urged people to look ahead, "Now is the time to focus on the future." ”
Later in the day, Trump shot back, saying, "Pence said he would respect the law, had no right to do anything but give that 'old crow' McConnell an automatic conveyor belt to help Biden get elected president as soon as possible." He criticized Pence with displeasure, saying, "If there is clear evidence of electoral fraud, the vice presidency should not be a conveyor belt." ”
But rather than repeatedly insulting Senate Republican Leader McConnell as an "old crow," Trump was kind to Pence. After criticizing Pence, he conveniently put part of the blame on the advisers around Pence, "who said he had no choice."
"Democrats and so-called Republicans In Name Only are actively working together to change the law because they don't want the vice president to have the power to make sure the vote is honest." Trump went out of his way to reiterate, "I was right. Everyone knows this. ”
Ivanka once praised Pence as "a good man"
The former partners were not originally in a public relationship with each other.
During Trump's four years in office, Pence has conscientiously played the role of "yes man" who applauds yes. As a backing for the president, unconditional support seems to be a career necessity for the vice president. For those in this position, the benefits come from the closeness to the president and the results of completing the tasks assigned by the president.
Under the power-loving and temperamental Trump, Pence is also a qualified vice president. Not only has he never deviated from Trump's will, but he has also been able to skillfully handle the rift and even guide others to deal with Trump's emotions appropriately.
Trump's four-year term, White House advisers and senior officials have changed constantly, and few of his former subordinates can get along peacefully with the president to the end, even if they are as good as the military master Bannon, they have also had unpleasant troubles with Trump. Between Pence and Trump, there have never been rumors of discord.
Until the end of Trump's term, Pence had to be forced to choose between loyalty to the Constitution and loyalty to Trump. Thus, four years of loyal deputies, a gap arose.
The two, who now seem to be concerned about each other's faces, began to drift apart from the Capitol Hill riots on January 6, 2021. When Pence resisted Trump's pressure and insisted on completing the process of certifying the electoral vote, he was trapped in Congress by a mob instigated by the president at the time, and some people also shouted "hang Pence".
On January 6, 2021, then-Vice President Pence presided over a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives to confirm the results of the Electoral College's vote count
On that day, Pence evacuated to the basement for a while, only to emerge from danger hours later. Trump is criticizing him, not caring about the vice president's safety. A Republican senator later said he had never seen Pence so angry and do so much for the president, yet betrayed. For five days after that, the two were rather cold to each other.
After that, Trump refused to attend Biden's inauguration ceremony and set off to return to Florida, and Pence did not send him off, but chose to stay at the inauguration site of the new president.
But he still avoided standing opposite the former boss. Pence remained silent about Trump's incitement of followers to attack Capitol Hill, refusing to attack or blame him. He simply said that what he did in certifying the electoral vote respected and complied with the Constitution.
Speaking later about the impact on Capitol Hill, Pence euphemistically said that he and Trump might "never agree on the day's events." In response to Trump's rebuke, he again said that January 6 last year was a dark day on Capitol Hill.
Capitol Hill, which was "captured" by Sichuan fans on January 6 last year
When the House Special Investigation Committee began investigating the riots, several of Pence's aides at the time also cooperated, including former chief of staff Marc Short and former general counsel Greg Jacob.
It is interesting to note that Trump's daughter Ivanka showed respect to Pence. Although she has not yet met with the committee investigating the congressional unrest, according to the Associated Press, when Trump called Pence from the White House on January 6 last year to finally pressure him, and even called him a "coward", Pence still insisted on his opinion; after the call, Ivanka and the people next to him in the Oval Office said, "He (referring to Pence) is a good person." ”
Although the process of counting electoral votes was interrupted by the riots, after the clearance, Congress reconvened a joint meeting that night until the early morning of the next day, when Biden was finally confirmed as president.
After finishing the former boss, Pence dreamed of 2024?
Whether it is resisting Trump's pressure in the past, or standing up now and pointing out that the former president is "wrong", it is not an easy decision for Pence.
As a potential contender for the 2024 election, Pence has real interests to balance. Although there was no official announcement of his candidacy, Pence recently spoke in several states that have in common that they will vote earlier in the primary for the next general election.
In this way, he must not offend Trump's basic disk. But how far to keep from Trump is a conundrum for many Republicans with campaign needs.
When Pence chooses to uphold the Constitution rather than succumb to Trump, he may be able to attract Republican voters who are different from hardcore Fans — a group of people who hope that the party will bid farewell to Trump and move on. Like his Feb. 4 speech, much of the applause won came from Trump's opponents within the party, such as former national security adviser John Bolton.
But there are huge risks. The overlap between Republican voters and Trump fans is still quite high, and this party is still Trump's party.
So while mutual criticism puts them in a delicate relationship, their careful wording suggests that neither Trump nor Pence sees it in their own interest to be separated from each other. CNN bluntly pointed out that given the current situation of the Republican Party, Pence's political ambitions are coming to an end for the time being.
At a conservative conference, Pence publicly said Trump was wrong
After all, lawmakers within the Republican Party who have sharply criticized Trump are in a difficult position, and the Republican National Committee (RNC) has even issued a resolution condemning them. In the resolution, the events that took place on January 6 last year were not riots, not riots, but were described as "legitimate political discourse."
A YouGov poll released last December showed that more than 70 percent of Republicans didn't believe the 2020 election results. When more and more people recognize Trump's election fraud theory, it also means that Pence has been pushed further down the road that is not conducive to the campaign. Speaking at a conference in Florida last year, Pence was given a cold reception, with cajoling voices in the crowd and people shouting "traitors."
Pence's staff also acknowledged that the relationship with Trump is crucial if it seeks a party nomination for the 2024 election. When Pence made the decision to resist Trump, he was doomed to have difficulty accessing the presidency. This public rebuttal will only make his chances in 2024 even dimmer.
It must be acknowledged that Pence's actions were extremely politically courageous, but not necessarily praised, as the New York Times had said of him a year ago: useless loyalty and late defiance.
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