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Mike Pence with his wife Karen in Ankeny, Iowa

Photo: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS

So far, Mike Pence has been very reluctant to direct criticism of his former boss. Hardly a bad word ever crossed the lips of the ex-vice president of the United States. But there would have been reason enough. Now, however, Pence himself is eyeing the executive chair in the White House – and is going on the offensive.

With attacks against Trump, he has entered the race for the 2024 presidential election. In a speech to supporters in Ankeny, Iowa, the arch-conservative Republican on Wednesday blamed the ex-president for the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 – and stressed that Trump should not be allowed to become president again.

"On that fateful day, President Trump's words were reckless and put my family and everyone in the Capitol in danger," the 64-year-old said of the day of the attack on Parliament. "But the American people also deserve to know that President Trump has demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution."

Anyone who puts themselves above the Constitution should never become president of the United States, Pence said. "And anyone who asks someone else to put him above the Constitution should never again become president of the United States."

January 6 as a fateful day

After the 2020 presidential election, Trump had demanded from his then deputy to prevent the confirmation of Democrat Joe Biden's victory in Congress. Pence rejected this at the time, incurring the wrath of Trump, who had spread widely refuted allegations of election fraud for weeks. When radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some of them also shouted "Hang Mike Pence." The attack on Congress led to a break between Trump and Pence – even if the latter was noticeably reluctant to publicly criticize.

Previously, Pence had loyally served Trump as a deputy for four years. On Wednesday, he was once again proud of the joint government record of 2017 and 2021: "I will be forever grateful to President Trump for what he has done for our country." However, the former governor of the state of Indiana also distanced himself from the 76-year-old right-wing populist in terms of content and accused him, among other things, of not taking a sufficiently strict stance on abortion policy.

The Republican field is getting bigger and bigger

Pence had entered the presidential race for the 2024 election early Wednesday morning with a first campaign video. "Today I announce to God and my family that I am running for president of the United States," said the evangelical Christian. "The best days for the greatest nation in the world are still ahead of us."

With the entry of the former vice president, the field of candidates for the Republican presidential primaries is becoming more and more crowded – a tendency to be an advantage for the favored Trump. A large field of candidates accommodates Trump because it distributes the votes of Republican voters who are critical of him among many rivals.

Trump has more than 50 percent of the vote in polls for the primaries. In second place is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with around 22 percent. Pence and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley are vying for third place with between four and five percent. Other candidates include former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Senator Tim Scott, former Southern Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and pharmaceutical entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

jok/AFP