The real reason Mike Pence is pretending he’s going to run in 2024
Mike Pence has literally zero chance of becoming President in 2024. Trump’s base no longer likes him enough to support him in the Republican primary race, and even if Pence did somehow get the nomination, every mainstream American outside Trump’s base hates him. So why is Pence suddenly making noise about running in 2024?
Two words: book deal. There’s a reason Mike Pence is simultaneously pushing the notion that he might run in 2024, and touting an upcoming book. The book deal is reportedly worth seven figures. That’s enough to set him up for life. Whenever politicians reach a point where they’re no longer politically viable, they always cash out with a book deal. It’s just how things work.
But at this point who’s going to care about Mike Pence’s book? That’s where his rumblings come in about a 2024 campaign. So long as Pence frames himself as a potential candidate in the next presidential election, the media will pay more attention to his upcoming book, which will in turn mean even more millions of dollars in sales and royalties for him.
It’s just how this stuff works – especially on the Republican side. Ben Carson literally ran for President in 2016 for the sole purpose of boosting sales of his books, which brought him millions of dollars. Ann Coulter’s entire career of saying embarrassingly extremist things has been for the sole purpose of bringing attention to her books, because she makes millions off them. What’s a little humiliation in exchange for getting rich? Mike Pence is no different. He knows he’s non-viable in 2024. But he’s sure going to make money failing.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report