Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” he is remembered as former President Donald Trump’s “loyal vice president.”
“How do you intend to break through on that debate stage? This will be your first big moment whether or not he comes there with the other candidates. What’s your strategy?” Pence was asked.
“Well, I’ve had a little bit of experience with nationally televised debates. But it’s different with a group on stage. Look, I’m just going to be me. I feel like I’ve been preparing for this first Republican presidential debate my whole life. And, frankly, as Karen and I have traveled all across the country, one of the things we’ve come to realize is that I’m well known, but I’m not known well. Most people know me as that loyal vice president who fought alongside President Trump until the day came that my oath to the Constitution required me to stand apart,” Pence said, before touting his record as a congressman and governor.
Pence also went on to say he hopes Trump — who has already declined to participate in the first Republican primary debate — will still show up.
Trump has criticized Pence for not sending electoral votes from disputed states back to the states, with Pence claiming he lacked the authority to deny certification for the states. (RELATED: Pence Hints He’ll Attack Trump, DeSantis During Debate For Going Soft On Abortion)
Pence has defended his loyalty to the Trump administration, saying in a NewsNation appearance last year he was “always loyal to President Donald Trump.”
“He was my friend, and I don’t regret what we did during the Trump-Pence administration,” Pence said. “The president and I forged a team, not just the two of us, but the team that he assembled throughout our cabinet that rebuilt our military, secured our border, revived our economy, saw three Supreme Court justices appointed, three hundred federal judges, achieved American energy independence and left America more prosperous and stronger than ever before.”