An adviser to former President Donald Trump said Trump has not mentioned replacing former Vice President Mike Pence on a possible 2024 ticket, after anonymously-sourced reports said otherwise.
“I can tell you, as someone who probably speaks with him on the political side as much, if not more than anybody else, never once has there been a conversation internally or in a group about doing something different for the VP position for 2024 if he decides to go that route,” Miller said, adding, “President Trump and Vice President Pence have had a couple of really good conversations since President Trump left office.”
On Jan. 6, Trump criticized Pence on Twitter for not challenging the electoral results during the Joint Session of Congress. He asserted that the former vice president did not “do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts.” Twitter later took down his tweet. Ahead of Jan. 6, Pence issued a letter explaining that he did not believe he had the constitutional authority to challenge the election results.
But in the interview, Miller appeared to downplay the reported schism between Trump and Pence.
The Bloomberg article last week alleged that Trump “privately” has “discussed alternatives to Pence as he takes stock of who he believes stood with him at the end of his term and who didn’t” and cited “two of the people” who “requested anonymity because the conversations have been private.” Also, according to the report, Trump is looking to find a black or female running mate such as Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) or Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, respectively.
“I realize that some Trump supporters might be a little bit frustrated with the former vice president,” Miller told Mediaite. “He’s a great guy. He’s been a loyal ally, loyal teammate. And I think President Trump still has pretty high regard and fondness for Vice President Pence.”
Miller also told news outlets last week that it’s not clear if Trump would attempt to run in 2024. In a speech last Sunday, the former president suggested that he might make a bid to “beat [Democrats] a third time.”
Breaking his silence last week, Pence wrote an opinion article saying that Republicans need to push election integrity measures and include them in their platform.
