Former Vice President Mike Pence announced and suspended his bid for the 2024 Republican nomination for president in the span of four months — and he was destined to fail from the start.
Pence had a tough battle from the get-go. On top of a crowded room of candidates seeking the nomination, he also had to deal with his old partner. Former President Donald Trump has been the frontrunner for the nomination ever since he lost the 2020 election, and his double-digit lead in the polls isn’t going anywhere.
Trump’s large base of loyal supporters have shown their dislike for Pence ever since he denounced the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and refused to question the validity of the 2020 election. Pence would’ve had a tough time getting those voters back on his side after he distanced himself from the former president.
Toward the end of Trump’s time in office, Pence’s opposition and distance from Trump caused a hefty amount of Trump supporters to turn their back on Pence. Pence certainly won’t be the vice presidential nominee if Trump wins the Republican nomination, and at this point, it’s looking like Pence might be out of politics altogether.
Pence is also a relic of the past, as his policies mirror that of the 1980s Ronald Reagan era of the Republican party, which most Republicans have moved on from.
Because of his old-fashioned politics, Pence had no real way of separating himself from the pack and was seen by most as a prime candidate to be the first to drop out of the race — which he was. Pence’s Reaganomics-led policies served to do him no good in a modern Republican party, which is more concerned with the rise of the “woke culture” than clear-cut policy.
Speaking of policy, Pence attempted to make his campaign policies stand out from his opponents, but in the end, his polices fell flat along with his campaign. On the issues, Pence continues to be a vocal opponent of abortion and has celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Pence made it clear that he was against the Biden administration’s plans for China and immigration and liked to point out that Trump’s policies were superior in his eyes. Unlike most Republicans however, Pence took a different approach to the war in Ukraine, opting to stand with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy until the war comes to an end.
Additionally, Pence’s antiquated mindset was never going to serve him well in the modern age, had he been elected.
His history of blatant homophobia is extremely visible by just doing one Google search.
From arguing that being gay was a “choice” or a “learned behavior” in the ‘90s, allegedly supporting gay conversion therapy to even making a homophobic joke targeted at Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Pence’s dated beliefs were never going to make a good impression on a good number of the American people come Election Day.
It seemed like Pence never caught on with the American people to begin with, as his short-lived campaign was riddled with financial trouble caused by a lack of donations.
Pence’s political “rallies” did not impress either, speaking to crowds of just 15 people by October as his campaign began to dwindle. He seemed to have seen the writing on the wall much earlier than he would’ve liked to.
The lack of care the voters showed to the Pence campaign proves Republicans and voters in general are moving away from the policies of the 1980s and into a new era of American politics.
Pence and his policies are better off left in the same place as his beliefs — the past. As the American political system and the Republican Party (reluctantly) move towards new ideas and generations of politicians, the Reagan-era candidates should take a backseat and enjoy retirement, which is hopefully what Pence will do now.
