Former Vice President Mike Pence called on his former boss to uphold a law banning TikTok for national security reasons and to allow Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. to purchase US Steel in support of global business ties, both positions more in line with traditional Republican orthodoxy.
Pence, who served in President Donald Trump’s first term, has been seeking to steer the Republican Party toward a brand of conservatism that Trump has largely upended through his “Make America Great Again” movement.
The relationship between the men has shattered since Pence refused Trump’s demands four years ago to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The former vice president said he wants to use “whatever remains of my bully pulpit” to be an anchor of “traditional conservatism.”
Speaking with reporters Friday, Pence reiterated his support for a law requiring the Chinese owners of social media platform TikTok to sell or shutter the service in the US. Even though the Supreme Court upheld the law, Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to extend the deadline for a sale.
Pence also said Trump should reconsider his opposition to the international steel deal that former President Joe Biden blocked to protect US supply chains and national security. Pence called the argument “completely unfounded,” given the close alliance between the US and Japan.
“Nobody was happier to see the Nippon investment in US Steel go away than China,” Pence said.
Pence had gathered reporters to discuss his recent trip to Asia. On that visit, he incensed Chinese officials by calling for the release of media mogul Jimmy Lai at a business conference in Hong Kong. Lai is a democracy activist currently facing trial in the Chinese territory for colluding with foreign governments against China, which he has denied.
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