Pence says Republicans will have 'better choices' than Trump in the 2024 presidential election

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that helium would similar a Republican alternate to erstwhile President Donald Trump successful the 2024 statesmanlike election.

"I deliberation we're going to person amended choices" than Trump, Pence said connected CNBC's "Squawk Box" erstwhile asked if the GOP should nominate idiosyncratic different than the erstwhile president adjacent year. The imaginable 2024 campaigner Pence did not explicitly regularisation retired supporting Trump if helium became the GOP nominee.

The ex-vice president, who served nether Trump successful the White House for 4 years, besides appeared to instrumentality a brushed swipe astatine his erstwhile brag erstwhile discussing Republicans' underperformance successful the midterm elections.

"Our candidates that were focused connected the past, peculiarly connected relitigating the past election, did not bash well, including successful areas that we should person done precise well," Pence said.

Pence is expected to beryllium considering his ain statesmanlike tally — a determination that could enactment him successful nonstop contention with Trump, who has attacked him for refusing to assistance overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 predetermination victory. After Pence said connected Jan. 6, 2021, that helium wouldn't spell on with Trump's scheme, a convulsive mob of Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, sending the then-vice president and legislature lawmakers into hiding.

But Pence offered lone a cryptic reply astir his statesmanlike plans successful the caller interrogation Wednesday.

"I'll support you posted," Pence said erstwhile asked if helium sought the Republican statesmanlike nomination.

Pence demurred arsenic immoderate of his would-be challengers person begun to record into the GOP primary. After respective comparatively quiescent months erstwhile Trump was the lone notable Republican connected the run trail, erstwhile South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley past week became his archetypal large superior challenger. Another candidate, entrepreneur and right-wing civilization warrior Vivek Ramaswamy, entered the statesmanlike contention connected Tuesday.

A big of different Republicans, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and erstwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are believed to beryllium gearing up to denote their ain White House bids.

As helium stayed mum connected the imaginable of a statesmanlike bid, Pence delved into immoderate of the thorniest argumentation questions facing the country. When asked astir talks successful Congress to rise the U.S. indebtedness ceiling, and the imaginable of reforming Medicare and Social Security, helium said the U.S. should see semipermanent changes to the fashionable but costly programs.

Some House Republicans have targeted the programs arsenic portion of a imaginable woody to rise the U.S. borrowing limit, evoking sharp disapproval from Democrats and prompting a protracted back-and-forth. Leaders of some parties are vowing not to interaction the entitlements.

"I'm gladsome to spot the Republican bulk saying we request to usage this indebtedness ceiling to commencement america backmost successful the absorption of fiscal discipline, but look, we each cognize wherever the existent contented is successful presumption of semipermanent debt," Pence said.

"I respect the speaker's committedness to instrumentality Social Security and Medicare disconnected the array for the indebtedness ceiling negotiations. We've got to enactment them connected the array successful the agelong term," Pence said.

"We're looking astatine a indebtedness situation successful this state implicit the adjacent 25 years that is driven by entitlements, and cipher successful Washington, D.C., wants to speech astir it," helium said.

Pressed connected what reforms helium would make, Pence said determination were "lots of bully ideas." He referenced erstwhile President Ronald Reagan moving to rise the status age, on with semipermanent idiosyncratic savings accounts. But "the archetypal occupation is to beryllium straight, the 2nd occupation is, get everybody astatine the table," helium said.

The Trump medication did not prosecute entitlement reforms. Confronted with that fact, Pence argued that the Trump administration's archetypal nonsubjective was to "get the system moving again" aft a sluggish Obama-era betterment from the 2008 recession.

"Then past showed up successful the signifier of Covid," Pence said — though helium added, "I don't deliberation we did astir enough."

Pence repeatedly said the state needed "leadership" astatine the statesmanlike level, and said the 2022 midterm results showed that "elections are astir the future."

"I mean, our candidates who were focused connected the issues affecting Americans today, and solutions for the future, did precise well," Pence said. But "our candidates that were focused connected the past, peculiarly connected relitigating the past election, did not bash well, including successful areas that we should person done precise well."

Trump ne'er conceded the 2020 predetermination to Biden, and has spent the years since his nonaccomplishment falsely claiming that the contention was tainted by wide predetermination fraud. Many of Trump's handpicked midterms candidates, who echoed those mendacious claims oregon different formed uncertainty connected the 2020 outcome, mislaid successful high-profile races.

"I don't deliberation anybody could person defeated Hillary Clinton different than Donald Trump successful 2016," Pence told CNBC.

But now, helium said, "I honestly perceive radical talking to maine precise regularly astir wanting to get backmost to the policies, but wanting to instrumentality to the benignant of authorities that makes it imaginable for america to instrumentality connected immoderate of these long-term, intractable problems."