(FreedomBeacon.com)- Following parallel appearances in Arizona on Friday, former President Donald Trump and his estranged former Vice President Mike Pence make appearances in the nation’s capital this week to deliver speeches that could serve as a preview of their potential 2024 presidential bids as GOP primary rivals.
In recent weeks, the former vice president has become more assertive in his attempts to distance himself from the former president. He has started participating in campaign-style events and asking House Republicans for backing for his ostensible presidential ambitions.
Pence was greeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “Young Guns” candidate dinner and the House Republican Study Committee, both of which he led when serving in the lower house from 2005 to 2006.
Following House Democrats’ committee hearings on January 6, which sought to highlight Trump’s attempts to persuade his former vice president to postpone the certification of the 2020 election results pending further investigation into reported voting irregularities and usurpations of legislative authority in a few swing states, crucial to Joe Biden’s victory, the Trump-Pence divide is currently particularly pronounced in the nation’s capital.
House lawmakers reportedly applauded when Rep. Chip Roy of Texas complimented the former vice president for his courage and adherence to the Constitution on January 6 during his meeting with the RSC last week. Numerous RSC members opposed certifying the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Over the weekend in Arizona, Trump and Pence participated in campaigns for the rival candidates they have each backed in the state’s gubernatorial race.
Before this, Pence supported Brian Kemp, the incumbent GOP governor of Georgia, in his primary contest with Trump-backed ex-Sen David Perdue. Kemp trounced Perdue by 50 points. Following the election of November 2020, Trump and members of his inner circle worked to demonstrate that there had been sufficient voter fraud in Georgia to successfully overturn the election results in the state, which led to a very public falling out between Trump and Kemp.
In contrast to Trump’s ongoing concentration on the 2020 election, Pence’s strong participation with 2022 candidates has allowed him a platform to give several speeches about the future of the Republican Party. Trump’s pick for the Arizona gubernatorial primary, Kari Lake, is running on a platform focused on maintaining the integrity of elections.
Vice President Mike Pence will address the America First Policy Institute on Monday. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other prominent Republicans will also speak at the event, which AFPI co-hosts. Some Republicans are looking for a “mainstream” GOP candidate who doesn’t have the baggage of the party’s divisive leader, Trump.
Rep. Don Bacon said, “It’s all about values, ideas, and policies.”
Rep. Billy Long said, “If anyone runs against Trump, it’d be foolish.”
