Around half of Republicans have sided with Pence over Trump on the question of Jan. 6. That doesn’t mean Pence’s newfound focus on the subject will work, but there is some real nuance here.
It has been a long and gradual process, but former vice president Mike Pence now appears increasingly intent on making Jan. 6 a central component of his 2024 presidential campaign.
It’s valid to ask whether this is a strategy of choice or necessity. With Trump now indicted over his efforts to overturn the election, Pence can’t really escape talking about it as much as he used to. Pence was invoked more than 100 times in the indictment, and his testimony was obviously key. Pence has also generated so little traction in the 2024 GOP contest that it might just be throw-spaghetti-at-the-wall time.
Two days after Trump’s indictment, Pence has declined to echo GOP talking points about how Trump might be a victim of a two-tiered justice system. He has instead echoed his previous comments about how Trump asked him to ignore the Constitution by seeking his help to overturn the election while presiding over Congress on Jan. 6. And he has expanded upon that by repeatedly citing Trump’s “crackpot lawyers.”
By Thursday, Pence’s campaign was selling merchandise featuring the words “Too Honest.
