OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A spokesman for former Vice President Mike Pence has responded to an initial report on Monday that he had filed to run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024. According to Devin O’Malley, Pence wasn’t the one who filed a Statement of Candidacy form with the Federal Election Commission, though it had his name on it.
“Former Vice President Mike Pence did not file to run for President today,” O’Malley noted in response to a tweet from a reporter claiming that the former VP had entered the race. But the denial wasn’t fast enough, as some media outlets ran stories claiming that Pence had filed.
“Someone filed a Pence filing. But it wasn’t Pence, his spokesman says, suggesting it was a prank,” tweeted New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
Someone filed a Pence filing. But it wasn’t Pence, his spokesman says, suggesting it was a prank https://t.co/iGT4Ur4GS0
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 26, 2022
It’s not clear how someone could file a statement of candidacy on behalf of someone else, but that said, last month Pence admitted he was giving “prayerful consideration” to running for president in the next cycle, which would pit him up against his previous running mate, former President Donald Trump, the only one who has officially declared his candidacy from either of the two major political parties.
Pence previously served as governor of Indiana and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“We’re giving it consideration in our house. Prayerful consideration,” Pence told David Muir in an extended interview on ABC’s “World News Tonight.”
When Muir asked Pence if he thought Trump should be president again, the former VP said, “That’s up to the American people. But I think we’ll have better choices in the future.”
He noted further: “For me and my family, we’ll be reflecting about what our role is in that.”
Pence told Fox News host Sean Hannity last month that he had forged a “genuine friendship” with Trump, which made the discourse between them at the end of Trump’s term following the VP’s refusal to discount electoral votes so painful.
“It’s part of what made what happened at the end so difficult,” Pence said.
Trump made his 2024 presidential run official last month during an event at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
“America’s comeback starts right now,” Trump said to a room full of supporters. “Unlike other presidents, I kept my promises.”
“The world was at peace, America was prospering, and our country was on track for an amazing future— because I made big promises to the American People and, unlike other Presidents, I kept my promises,” he said. “Under our leadership, we were a great and glorious nation, something you haven’t heard for quite a long period of time. We were a strong nation, and importantly we were a free nation. Now, we are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation.”
Trump declared: “I am tonight again announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.”
BREAKING: President Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States, announces his candidacy for re-election as president in 2024. pic.twitter.com/R7zBQmhLtk
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) November 16, 2022
Also, Trump has filed with the Federal Election Commission.
BREAKING: Donald J. Trump OFFICIALLY files FEC paperwork for 2024 Presidential run pic.twitter.com/RieRB5a8qG
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 16, 2022
When asked by reporters who he would pick as his running mate, Trump said, “I’ll let you know very soon.”
According to Robert Draper, a correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, Trump is seriously eying Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene.
Draper said in an interview with The Daily Beast’s “New Abnormal” podcast “that Greene had risen quickly in her first term in Congress by using the same tactics she honed as a right-wing social media influencer harassing Democratic staffers, and she could shoot to the second-highest office in government,” Raw Story reported.
“Republicans kind of wanted to kick her to the curb immediately,” said Draper, per the outlet. “But instead, she became a fundraising dynamo, came to have this huge social media influence, and ultimately came to be very influential within the party itself.”
Draper went on to say that Trump has been seriously discussing Greene as a potential VP since February, and though he has likely considered others as well, Greene has another quality that may propel her to the top, the report said.
