Mike Pence at odds with Trump's second administration, says it has strayed from conservative principles

Former Vice President Mike Pence said on Sunday (local time) that US President Donald Trump’s second administration has “departed” from traditional conservative principles.

Pence, who served as Trump’s vice president during his first term, told NBC News that the administration is no longer committed to “the conservative agenda that has defined the Republican Party since Ronald Reagan, and before that the agenda of American leadership, limited government, free market economics, right to life.”

Pence also noted that “on a number of these issues, the president has been good in the past.”

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There’s no doubt about Trump’s popularity: Pence

The former vice president said there was no doubt about Trump’s popularity, adding: “I give him all the credit in the world for what he has with Republican voters.

Pence said he believes GOP voters agree with the GOP’s core conservative principles, stating that “if Republicans maintain those time-honored conservative principles this fall and in 2028, those voters will rally to our cause.”

Most MAGA voters still support conservative principles: Pence

He also said that while he understands why most Republican primary voters support Trump-backed candidates, he believes the vast majority of people in the MAGA movement continue to support traditional conservative principles, including a strong American leadership role on the world stage, limited government, lower taxes, less regulation, opposition to policies such as government ownership of businesses, price controls and broad tariffs, and a commitment to protecting unborn life.

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Pence criticizes the second Trump administration

The former vice president criticized the current administration of the US president for not doing enough to restrict the abortion pill, saying: “What we see in this administration is a desire to relegate the right to life to a matter for the state alone, to actually have a pro-abortion HHS secretary who has done nothing to restrict the availability of the abortion pill.

He also warned that the values of Trump’s second administration could affect how Republicans fare in the upcoming midterm elections in November, adding that if they win, it will only be because Democrats are too radical.

Pence hits out at Democrats

“I think in many ways the Republicans have lost their way, but the Democrats have lost their minds, and I think the reason we’re going to hold the Senate and have a real chance to hold the House is because of the extremism on the Democratic side,” he said, pointing specifically to the Texas Senate race.

Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton unseated Sen. John Cornyn in the race for the GOP Senate nomination, setting up a general election matchup against Democratic candidate James Talarico.

Anti-gun fund a bad idea: Pence

Pence has also voiced criticism of the Justice Department’s (DOJ) “anti-gun fund,” which includes roughly $1.8 billion that could be paid out to individuals who believe they have been wrongfully targeted by the government. The fund was temporarily blocked by a federal judge last week.

He noted that the anti-gun fund was a bad idea from the start and his advice to the current government would be to drop it.

Pence, who was overseeing congressional certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election when the attack on the Capitol took place on Jan. 6 and was forced to leave the building for safety, said he believed most Republicans and Americans shared his unfavorable view of the fund.

Read also | US judge temporarily freezes Trump’s $1.8 billion anti-gun fund

The former vice president’s remarks show how he is at odds with Trump’s second administration.

Key things

Pence believes that the Trump administration does not adhere to traditional conservative values.
It emphasizes the importance of basic Republican principles to future electoral success.
Pence criticizes the current administration’s abortion policies and government regulations.