The real reason Mike Pence is making his move against Donald Trump now
If you’re surprised Mike Pence is making his move against Trump this week, you shouldn’t be. Trump’s political viability ended on January 6th, and no amount of subsequent ratings driven media hype has changed that. The numbers make clear that, even among Republican voters, Trump is old news – and now Trump is bottoming out in Georgia.
Shortly after Trump left office, polling showed that around half of Republican voters want someone other than Trump as their 2024 nominee. Given his name recognition, incumbency, and lack of a clear Brand B, those numbers were devastating for him. The numbers haven’t improved.
Now Trump’s midterm endorsements are flopping, he’s under DOJ criminal investigation, he comes off as half senile in his somewhat rare public appearances, and the January 6th Committee is about to hold public hearings after his friends and family have testified against him.
And even with as much as the media has tried to prop up his relevance over the year and a half, Trump’s candidate in Georgia is about to lose by 30 points, and the media will finally have to start admitting Trump is done. Now is the ideal time for someone like Pence to pounce.
Pence knows he won’t win in 2024. But adopting a ‘Trump had some good ideas he was just out of control’ narrative gives Pence an excuse to run. And even if he gets 2% in the Iowa caucus and drops out, he’ll make millions from the resulting book deal. These things are about money.
