Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Westside Conservative Club Breakfast, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Urbandale, Iowa.
Former Vice President Mike Pence officially jumped into the 2024 presidential race with a video announcement Wednesday morning.
In the video, Pence made no announcement of his former boss, former President Donald Trump, who leads the Republican field by a wide margin.
President Joe Biden and the radical left have weakened America at home and abroad," Pence says in the video. "The American dream is being crushed under runaway inflation. Wages and dropping. Recession is looming. Our Southern border in under siege and the enemies of freedom are on the march around the world."
Casting himself as an alternative that can turn the country around, Pence said "America needs a leader that, as Lincoln said, appeals to our better angels of our nature."
The video announcement came before a campaign event in Des Moines later in the day
Pence has been signaling his plans for several months with several stops in early voting states like New Hampshire and Iowa and the announcement of a super PAC supporting his bid. Pence will join at least nine other Republicans attempting to unseat former President Trump as the frontrunner for the GOP nomination.
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In the past several weeks, Pence has previewed a campaign focused on returning the Republican party to traditional GOP themes like expanding free markets, fiscal responsibility, supporting American allies abroad and small government. He has also made more pointed attacks on Trump, his former running mate, by invoking his own faith and family values and promising to respect the constitution.
In a November 2022 interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep, Pence said his draw to the presidency boils down to sense of service. He said he believes that the people want to get back to the policies he and Trump championed during their time in office: a strong military; conservative courts; support for allies and standing up to enemies.
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"But I think they long for leadership that could unite our country around our highest ideals and demonstrate the kind of respect and civility that the American people show each other every day," Pence told Inskeep. "You know, our politics is very divided right now, maybe more than any time in my lifetime. But you know, moving back to Indiana, shopping at the grocery store, going to the gas station, being back around family and friends, traveling the country, I'm not convinced that the American people are as divided as our politics."