Former vice president Mike Pence has officially withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race, after months of lagging behind Donald Trump in the polls.
Pence Throws in the Towel
“I have no regrets.” – Mike Pence, former U.S. vice president to Donald Trump, has bowed out of the Republican primaries and the 2024 presidential election.
Republican Jewish Coalition Meeting
Pence made the announcement at the annual Republican Jewish Coalition meeting in Las Vegas this Saturday to a gathering of 1,500 people.
His announcement was met by gasps from the crowd.
Not His Time
“It’s become clear to me that this is not my time,” he declared.
“So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today.” He also promised to “never leave the fight for conservative values.”
No Regrets
“We always knew this would be an uphill battle,” he continued. “But I have no regrets.”
The conclusion of his speech was followed by rapturous applause and multiple standing ovations from the congregation.
Fellow Republicans Say Farewell
A number of Republican presidential candidates came forward to acknowledge Pence in the wake of the announcement, including former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott, and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
A Man of Faith and Service
Haley, who also spoke at the event, praised Pence in her speech. “He’s been a good man of faith. He’s been a good man of service,” she stated.
“He has fought for America [and] we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”
Making the Party Stronger
Tim Scott, senator of South Carolina, issued a statement where Pence was referred to as “a prayer partner, a friend, and a man of integrity and deep conviction.
Scott affirmed that “the Republican Party is stronger today because of Mike’s leadership.”
DeSantis Speaks
Floridian Governor Ron DeSantis, the second-highest polling Republican candidate, followed Pence’s speech at the coalition meeting but did not mention his withdrawal in his speech.
Instead, he issued a statement via X, formerly known as Twitter, calling Pence a “principled man of faith.”
Failure to Compete
The announcement comes after months of Pence falling behind in the Republican polls, unable to compete with his former running mate Donald Trump, who has dominated the Republican primary polls.
Hoping for Iowa
Pence’s campaign had hinged their hopes on the Iowa caucuses but proved fruitless as Trump still remains the dominant vote in the state.
The failure in a state that has historically been tricky for Trump, has only highlighted how difficult it will be for other candidates to run against the former president.
“I Chose Him”
The same night at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump acknowledged Pence’s decision and encouraged him to endorse his own campaign instead.
“I chose him, made him vice president, but people in politics can be very disloyal,” he told the crowd. “He could have done what he could have done, right?”
Money Struggles
His campaign has also struggled to raise money, needing 70,000 unique donors to qualify for the Nov. 8 debates in Miami.
The campaign was reportedly over $600,000 in debt.
Advancing American Freedom
So far Mike Pence is the most prominent politician to drop out of the presidential race, narrowly avoiding further debt and a failure to qualify for the Miami debates.
He is expected to continue political campaigning through his conservative think tank Advancing American Freedom.
At Least We Tried
Despite the setbacks his campaign experienced, Pence assured the crowd that “the only thing that would have been harder than coming up short would have been if we’d never tried at all.”
Better Angels of Our Nature
He ended the speech with a veiled reference to the current Republican favorite, Trump, by saying that he hoped Republicans would “give our country a Republican standard-bearer that will, as Lincoln said, appeal to the better angels of our nature.”
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The post “This Is Not My Time” – Mike Pence Abandons 2024 Presidential Bid, Trump’s Shadow Looms Large first appeared on Mama Say What?!
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