Mike Pence Seemingly Takes Dig At Donald Trump In Presidential Bid Announcement

Over the past two weeks, a great deal of speculation circulated as to which Republican politicians might be officially throwing their hats into the ring to take on President Biden in the 2024 election. As many expected, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his bid in May, and it was just announced that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has also entered the race. Candidate and former ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley began speaking to voters this past weekend via her CNN Town Hall, and now another well-known Republican has announced their bid for the Oval Office: former Vice President Mike Pence.

While Donald Trump is still the frontrunner in the party with Ron DeSantis in second place according to current metrics, a person close to Pence said, "We view this race as absolutely wide open, and Iowa is really going to solidify itself as the pivotal player" (via NBC). This source went on to say, "It's a place that values Mike Pence's principles — traditional conservative principles — deep-rooted faith and uncommon character."

In Mike Pence's launch video, the former vice president made some common claims about the current state of the union and how he, as its leader, could make the type of changes that conservative voters hope to see. And then he said something that many took to be a thinly veiled insult aimed at his former boss, Donald Trump.

It's standard for political candidates to not only tout their own skills and ambitions, but also to point out what they see as their opponents' failings or shortcomings. Along these lines, while it was expected for Pence to take a jab at current President Joe Biden, he seems also to have made a more subtle remark about the character of former president and current Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump (via NBC). 

In the launch video, Mike Pence called out Biden by name, claiming that Biden and what he called the "radical left" have "weakened" the United States. He went on to claim that, "We can turn this country around. But different times call for different leadership."

Then, in what appears to have been an insinuation that Trump has not brought out the best in the Republican Party and Republican voters, Pence said, "Today, our party and our country need a leader that will appeal, as Lincoln said, to the better angels of our nature."