Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared at First Baptist Dallas over the weekend amid talks of a potential presidential run, as former President Donald Trump criticized the "disloyalty" of some prominent evangelical leaders who haven't yet endorsed his own 2024 White House bid.
Pence tweeted Saturday night that he would be at the Southern Baptist megachurch located in Dallas, Texas, to talk about and sign copies of his book So Help Me God which was released in November. He also attended Sunday services the next day and discussed his book with Pastor Robert Jeffress. Notably, Jeffress is a Trump ally who once also hosted the former president at First Baptist Dallas in December 2021.
But on Monday, Trump seized the opportunity during an interview on The Water Cooler podcast to denounce "disloyalty" after host David Brody mentioned that several evangelical leaders like Jeffress who supported him before haven't yet backed his current campaign.
Jeffress reportedly told Texas Monthly's Skip Hollandsworth in November that he "enthusiastically" backed Trump's 2024 campaign. The pastor announced later on that he wouldn't endorse anyone until after the GOP primaries after some Republicans began distancing themselves from Trump in light of disappointing midterm election results.
Speaking to Brody on Monday, Trump touted his appointments of three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court during his administration, all of whom voted in favor of a decision last year that overturned Roe v. Wade. He stated that nobody has done more for movements of evangelicals, Christians and anti-abortion rights than himself.
Trump officially announced that he was joining the 2024 presidential race in November after months of teasing a potential campaign. Pence has not formally declared whether he plans to do the same, and late last month a spokesperson denied that he had filed to run for president.
But the former vice president and ex-Indiana governor has not ruled out running for president either. In an ABC News interview that aired the night before Trump announced his 2024 campaign, Pence said that he and his family were giving "prayerful consideration" to potentially running in 2024.
When asked if he believes Trump should ever be president again, Pence said that was up to the American people, but "I think we'll have better choices in the future."
If Pence does decide to run, the two former running mates would be pitted against each other in a Republican primary following their divided response to their failed presidential campaign in 2020. Trump has repeatedly insisted that the 2020 election was stolen—a claim that has been debunked—and even suggested that Pence had the power as vice president to overturn the election.
Pence, on the other hand, remained committed to carrying out his ceremonial role for certifying the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021. That was the same day a mob of Trump's supporters, some of whom were heard chanting "hang Mike Pence," stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an effort to stop the certification process.
Polling indicates that Pence may not fare well in a matchup against Trump, but a Pence campaign could take at least some of the primary votes away from Trump as he faces signs that his influence in the GOP is waning.
Newsweek reached out to spokespersons for Trump and Pence for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Zoe Strozewski is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and global politics. Zoe ... Read more
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