Pence: I Agree With Trump on Issues, Not 'Focus'

Pair both have DC speeches on Tuesday
By Mike L. Ford,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 26, 2022 1:14 PM CDT
Pence's Dig: Elections About the Future, Not the Past
Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Young America's Foundation's National Conservative Student Conference, Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

In a speech Tuesday in DC, Mike Pence told the Young America’s Foundation conference that “some people may choose to focus on the past, but elections are about the future.” It was a not-so-veiled reference to his former boss’s obsession over the 2020 election, per Axios, which notes that Pence also laid out his "Freedom Agenda," with priorities such as defunding Planned Parenthood and the “need to purge our schools of critical race theory and restore patriotic education.” Pence also called for a new conservative movement to roll back the “pernicious woke agenda [that is] allowing the radical left to continue dumping toxic waste into the headwaters of our culture," reports the New York Times.

During a Q&A, Pence was asked about “the divide” between former President Trump and himself, to which he replied, “I don’t know that the president and I differ on issues, but we may differ on focus.” Trump's shadow loomed elsewhere in DC, as he was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the America First Policy Institute later in the day. Per Fox News, it’s Trump’s first visit to the capital since leaving the White House. However, it's not the first time he and Pence have competed directly for headlines in recent days, including “dueling events” in Arizona over the weekend.

Support for Trump appears to be waning among Republican voters, nearly half of whom prefer someone else for the 2024 nomination, according to the latest Times/Sienna poll, which also found that 64% of primary voters under age 35 promised to vote against him. However, Pence may not be the preferred choice, as he garnered just 6% compared to 25% for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, Trump landed atop the poll at 49% and is still viewed favorably by 65% of Republicans, including many of those who plan to vote against him. (More Mike Pence stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X