Mike Pence news: Ex-VP contradicts himself on Trump charges at CNN town hall launching 2024 campaign

In a crowded field, former Indiana governor looking to stand out from Republican rivals

Mike Pence says he would not pardon Jan 6 protesters

Former US vice president Mike Pence officially announced that he is running for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, pitting him against Donald Trump.

In a speech in Iowa on his 64th birthday, Mr Pence trod a fine line between embracing the record of the Trump administration and attacking Mr Trump for his role in the deadly Capitol riot of 6 January 2021.

In a CNN town hall on Wednesday evening, Mr Pence reasserted his conservative culture war credentials on abortion, gun rights, crime, school choice, and climate change.

When asked about his estranged former boss, he called on the Department of Justice not to prosecute Mr Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents, immediately after saying that everyone should be treated equally under the law. Significantly, he refused to say he would pardon the ex-president if he won the White House.

In an increasingly crowded GOP field, Mr Pence faces competition from the likes of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, senator Tim Scott and ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley.

On Thursday, Mike and Karen Pence celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary on the campaign trail.

Key points

• Mike Pence isn’t even a contender for 2024. Why are we pretending?
• Mike Pence launches 2024 presidential campaign in Iowa
• Pence announces 2024 run with video calling for ‘different leadership’
• Pence calls on DoJ not to indict Trump over classified documents
• Pence accuses Trump of treating abortion issue as an ‘inconvenience’

[8 June 2023 09:45 · Oliver O'Connell]

How Pence got here

Joe Sommerlad looks at the how the former vice president ended up running against his former boss.

[8 June 2023 11:15 · Oliver O'Connell]

Pence accuses Trump of treating abortion issue as an ‘inconvenience’

Former Vice President Mike Pence said he plans to make the expansion of abortion bans a central plank of his 2024 campaign as he launched his bid for the GOP nomination on Wednesday.

John Bowden reports.

[8 June 2023 12:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Pence calls on DoJ not to indict Trump

Mike Pence has called on the Department of Justice (DoJ) not to prosecute Donald Trump for his handling of classified documents but refused to say he would pardon the former president if he won the White House.

The former vice president told a CNN town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, that he viewed the handling of classified material as “a very serious matter” but told host Dana Bash that federal prosecutors should leave Mr Trump alone.

“I would hope not, I really would,” he said when asked if the DoJ special counsel Jack Smith should indict Mr Trump over the documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Graeme Massie reports on what happened at the CNN event.

[8 June 2023 12:45 · Oliver O'Connell]

Pence rebukes Trump over Russia: ‘I know the difference between a genius and a war criminal'

Ooof. More of this and Pence could be on to a winner.

[8 June 2023 13:30 · Joe Sommerlad]

Dana Bash corners Pence on Trump double-standards at CNN town hall

Here’s last night’s interviewer putting the newly-declared candidate in a difficult spot by challenging him on his conflicting answers about his loyalties to Donald Trump.

[8 June 2023 14:15 · Oliver O'Connell]

Pence backs armed school guards and quicker death penalty over gun reforms

Mike Pence says he wants to see an armed guard in every public school in America to try and prevent mass shootings rather than gun control measures.

The former vice president told a CNN town hall that he believed there should be more gun-carrying security guards in American schools capable of taking down shooters.

Graeme Massie reports on what else he said about gun crime.

[8 June 2023 15:15 · Oliver O'Connell]

Christian media mogul and former presidential candidate Pat Robertson dies

Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, has died. He was 93.

Read more...

[8 June 2023 15:23 · Oliver O'Connell]

Mike and Karen Pence celebrate 38th wedding anniversary

The day after he launched his 2024 presidential campaign and celebrated his 64th birthday, former vice president Mike Pence now has another reason to be cheerful.

Today marks the 38th anniversary to his wife Karen Pence.

He posted on Twitter:

Happy 38th Anniversary to my Best Friend and the Love of My Life, @KarenPence! I am so honored to walk through this life with you especially as we enter a new chapter! You are the Greatest Blessing of My Life! ❤️

[8 June 2023 15:39 · Oliver O'Connell]

Watch: Pence says ‘Biden has weakened America at home and abroad'

[8 June 2023 16:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

The Republican presidential field is largely set

After a trio of new announcements this week, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential field is all but set.

A handful of stragglers may jump in later, but as of now there are at least 10 high-profile Republican candidates officially seeking their party’s nomination. And with the announcement phase of the primary campaign largely over, several leading Republican contenders will gather in North Carolina this weekend to begin a more aggressive sorting period.

It will be a long road to the GOP’s national convention in Milwaukee next summer when Republican delegates across the country gather to finalize their nominee to run against President Joe Biden. Surprises are guaranteed. Fortunes will change. But as of now, every Republican White House hopeful is looking up at former President Donald Trump, who is the undisputed frontrunner in the crowded contest.

Here are some takeaways on where the Republican contest stands: