Politics can bring many surprises. But no one was expecting this.
And a top Republican delivers sobering news about the 2024 election.
Donald Trump’s poll numbers speak for themselves.
According to a Morning Consult poll, Trump is at 62% while his next closest challenger, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, is only at 13%.
So barring an utter disaster for the former President, he is very likely to be the party’s nominee for 2024.
Former Vice President and running mate for Donald Trump, Mike Pence, sat at 5% in that same poll, until he made a major announcement on Saturday.
“To the American people, I say: This is not my time, but it is still your time,” Pence said, while announcing his decision to drop out of the race to the leadership summit of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
“So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today.”
“We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regrets.”
He also told the audience to back a candidate that would “not only lead us to victory, but lead our nation back to civility.”
Donald Trump, who believes Pence turned his back on him after certifying the 2020 presidential election results, welcomed a potential endorsement from his former vice president.
“He should endorse me. I chose him, made him vice president. But people in politics can be very disloyal,” Trump said at an event in Las Vegas.
By dropping out now, Mike Pence won’t be going into more debt after putting the majority of his cards in the Iowa caucuses that occur in January.
He was also in danger of possibly failing to meet the requirements to be on the Republican primary debate stage in early November.
After Trump shot up in the polls early on, it was clear that Pence’s campaign was always going to be a long shot.
His status as a former vice president would usually help to boost him in the polls, but since the majority of Trump supporters feel as though he betrayed the former President by certifying the election results, he was never going to win over their vote.
According to reports from the Associated Press, Mike Pence will likely still be involved in politics and plans to release a book next month.
You can watch his announcement to suspend his campaign below:
“There is a time for every purpose under Heaven.” After traveling the country the past six months, it has become clear…this is not my time.
As we leave this campaign, we do so with grateful hearts. I will always be grateful for the opportunities my family and I have been given… pic.twitter.com/bsmc94Lxjw
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) October 28, 2023
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
