Pence is certainly aware of those discontinuities, especially noting “the Republican platform in 2024 that literally eviscerated almost every word of pro-life commitments.” It might be easy for a Reaganite to despair, but Pence isn’t one for despairing. At the same time, he gave Trump credit for securing the southern border, making the income tax cuts from his first term permanent, striking Iran’s nuclear program, standing with Israel in its war against Hamas and securing a peace deal.
In the 2024 primaries, Pence took his vision of conservatism to Republican voters. His campaign lasted just under five months. “I don’t think Republican voters made a choice to walk away from the traditional conservative principles and values that have defined our party for more than 50 years,” he told me. He chalked up Trump’s primary victory to a variety of factors, including voters’ desire for a Trump-Biden rematch and revulsion at the lawfare campaigns against the former president.
He spoke of a specific instance after one of his events in Iowa, when a voter shook his hand and said he agreed with everything he had said but still said he’d vote for Trump. Why? “He said words I’ll never forget,” Pence said. “‘You know, if they can do that to the former president, they can do that to me. We just can’t have that.’”
Of course, Pence wants it to be true that Republican voters haven’t actually rejected free markets, traditional social values and a strong national defense. That’s the American conservatism he has made it his career to propound, come hell, high water or mobs demanding his execution. Yet, the party under which he served 12 years in Congress, four years as governor of Indiana and four years as vice president, has largely cast him out. And Trump’s likeliest successor at the moment as leader of the GOP, Vice President JD Vance, does not hew to Pence’s ideological vision when it comes to foreign policy or the size and scope of government.
Mike Pence will never be president. Then again, neither was Barry Goldwater. After getting trounced by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, Goldwater returned to the Senate, where he watched the next Republican president implement price controls, increase the power of the federal regulatory apparatus and pursue détente with the Soviet Union. It took 16 years for a disciple of Goldwater’s to be elected president. When Reagan addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference as president in 1981, he noted, “Had there not been a Barry Goldwater willing to take that lonely walk, we wouldn’t be here talking of a celebration tonight.”
As Goldwater wrote in his book, “The laws of God, and of nature, have no dateline.” And as Pence told me, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.”
Even if many self-described conservatives don’t believe what Pence believes right now — or in the next election — keeping traditional conservative ideas in circulation is enough of a mission for him. Conservatives are comfortable working on a long-term horizon, and they know that politics isn’t everything.
Grandkids are.
Mr. Pence served as vice president of the United States, 2017-21. He brings a wealth of experience from the highest levels of government, offering audiences firsthand insights into leadership, public service, and the future of American politics. Known for his calm demeanor and principled leadership, Vice President Pence is a compelling speaker for audiences seeking clarity and perspective in today’s complex political landscape. To host Vice President Pence at your next event, contact WWSG.
