Former Vice President Mike Pence has not said whether he will run for President in the 2020 election. Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy are among the current Republican candidates.
Mike Pence has refused to clarify whether he will back Donald Trump if he becomes the GOP nominee in the upcoming election.
When asked twice whether he would back Trump in the 2024 race, the former vice president did not commit to a positive answer.
Instead, Mr Pence said during a CBS interview that voters will pick “wisely again as they did in 2016”, but argued “new times call for different leadership”.
“I’m extremely convinced we’ll have better options come 2024… and I’m confident our standard-bearer will win the day in November of that year,” he stated.
Republican contenders who have declared candidatures thus far include Trump, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, and biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, while Florida governor Ron DeSantis is also expected to run.
Mr Pence, who has also been tipped as a prospective candidate for the Republican nomination, said he was “continue to give prayerful consideration to entering the race”.
If he runs, he will bring a “wide conservative platform that has characterised [his] life and career,” according to the 63-year-old.
If he won, he promised a “strong national defence… standing up for America’s status as leader of the free world facing aggression” be it in “eastern Europe… or in the Asia Pacific”.
Previously, the former vice president had claimed he would make a decision on the presidential contest “by the spring”.
He told NBC News, “If I’m a contender, I’m confident I’ll meet whatever the threshold is for debates.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump, who launched his presidential campaign at the end of January, could face legal action over the 2021 Capitol riots in his attempt to change the results of the 2020 presidential election.
According to the Justice Department, the former president can be sued by injured Capitol Police officers and Democratic members over the 6 January insurgency at the US Capitol.
