“For the most part, it’s been like, ‘Hey, we’re not really having this conversation,’ and then, ‘Walk us through it,’” this person said. (A Pence spokesman declined to comment.) Less thirsty but still in the mix is Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary. “I don’t get the sense that she’s actively pursuing anything,” Pence’s global source said. She is in touch with the insider, but she has not explicitly mentioned the vice presidency.
The first advice the Pence expert gives them: “Look for ways to add value,” this person said. “Find ways to help, whether it’s raising money, being a substitute on the field or on TV. Be visible to Trump’s world so they see that he is helping the cause. And then I think it’s about figuring out who you can build relationships with within Trump’s orbit, because that’s an ever-changing orbit.” Some of the questions have been quite open: How does all this work? How many years of taxes should the principal collect?
Behind-the-scenes maneuvering is public posturing. against Pence has become one of the first litmus tests in public affairs. Given Trump’s continued unfounded complaints about the outcome of the 2020 election, Pence has come under fire for refusing to use his ceremonial role in the Senate to interfere with the election results and attempt to prevent Joe Biden from being certified as president on the 6th. January 2021. “I wouldn’t have done what Mike Pence did,” Stefanik said earlier this month on CNN. “I don’t think that was the right approach.”
Openly campaigning for the position of vice president is considered rude. But that hasn’t stopped many of these candidates from doing so this weekend at the Conservative Political Action Coalition conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The event featured Stefanik, Noem, Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy, and Pence’s world insider confirmed that he hoped to meet directly with at least Noem during his time in DC.
A spokesperson for Stefanik did not respond to a request for comment. A person close to Scott said there was no such contact or communication. A spokesman for Noem said: “No such conversations have taken place. There is no truth in these statements.” A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a question about whether turning to Pence allies would hurt a candidate’s prospects.
There’s a reason they go to a Pence consigliere, of course. Sure, Miguel It’s now a four-letter word in Trump circles, but not long before January 6 and the “hang Mike Pence” chants, Pence was still considered something of a Trump whisperer. Pence and his advisers deftly navigated a Apprentice-As a final competition to win a spot on Trump’s ticket. In the summer of 2016, Newt Gingrich flew to Indianapolis on Sean Hannity’s plane to face Pence in dueling final interviews with Trump. Meanwhile, Pence and his wife ordered a breakfast quiche at a local grocery store and picked up flowers from the Indiana governor’s residence at midnight to charm Trump, Ivanka and Don Jr. at brunch later that morning. “He apparently made an impression,” Pence wrote in his memoir. So help me God.
Although Pence himself is radioactive to much of Trump’s base, his close circle of advisers (particularly those who have maintained ties to both sides during the divorce) are a valuable resource for potential vice presidential candidates. They know what it’s like to navigate Trump’s turbulent orbit.