WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th April, 2021) Former US Vice President Mike Pence announced the creation of his new political advocacy group in order to position himself to run again as former President Donald Trump's running mate in 2024, political analysts told Sputnik.
Pence announced on Wednesday a new advocacy organization, Advancing American Freedom, that he said would promote the conservative policies of the Trump administration. The release contained a list of over two dozen prominent conservatives on the organization's advisory board, including many who served during the past four years.
However, Pence faces a number of challenges that make the prospects for success uncertain not least of which are the divisions in the Republican party, numerous lawsuits against Trump and the fact that a number of Trump supporters view Pence as having betrayed former president.
Historian and political analyst Dan Lazare said on Thursday that Pence's move reflected the unsettled state of the Republican party at present. He said it was an early move in the years of political maneuvering now starting to prepare for Trump's political comeback attempt in 2024.
"I assume it means that things are extremely unsettled inside the GOP and that the major players figure it's time to begin positioning themselves for what everyone assumes will be a Trump candidacy in 2024," Lazare said.
Pence's goal was clearly to build an independent power base that would enable him to bargain with Trump from a position of strength, Lazare explained.
"That doesn't mean he'll be able to influence policy since we all know that the Orange One does not take kindly to political advice. But it could enable him to convince Trump that he needs him on board once again as his running mate," he said.
If Pence succeeds in serving another four-year term as vice president after participating in a 2024 Trump reelection victory, he would have a strong base from which to run for the presidency himself in 2028, Lazare continued.
"What Pence may really be positioning himself for is a presidential bid in 2028, when he'll be only 69, or even in 2032," he said.
However, this anticipated outcome was still very tentative and uncertain, Lazare cautioned.
LITIGATION AGAINST TRUMP POTENTIALLY CRIPPLING
A lot can happen over the next three years that may cripple the chances for success, including numerous lawsuits against the former president, Lazzare said.
"Trump is facing a tidal wave of litigation that could prove crippling. He also faces the problem of how to keep himself in the news so as to remain fresh and relevant," he said.
Trump and Pence could have serious comeback prospects if current President Joe Biden and his administration fail, but they could look like the forgotten and discarded past if Biden instead succeeded, Lazare argued.
A Trump-Pence comeback "will not be difficult if Biden blunders badly in the next few months and falls flat on his face, which I think he will. But if he emerges as the next Franklin Roosevelt, which I guess is also possible, then Trump will wind up looking like a tired old retread," he said.
Pence was taking advantage of the current relatively quiet season in domestic US politics after years of upheaval to try and position himself, Lazare observed.
"Politics are in a lull for the moment, but we'll know more as soon as they start heating up, which I'm sure they will shortly," he said.
PENCE POSITIONS HIMSELF AS CHAMPION OF TRUMP'S AGENDA
Independent Institute Center on Peace and Freedom Director Ivan Eland agreed that Pence was trying to position himself as a leading champion of Trump's nationalist agenda to prepare for a political comeback with his new advocacy group.
"Like the other Trump-world groups, it is to fund raise and keep the Trump agenda alive among the base. [Pence] will need to cater to the Trump base but be somewhat independent of it, because many in the base hate him for not trying to overturn the election on Trump's behalf," Eland said.
However, for all his efforts and experience, Pence still lacked the crucial popularity and type of personality to make a serious bid for the presidency, Eland maintained.
Pence's prospects for winning the 2024 Republican presidential nomination remained "fairly low because of the aforementioned hatred by some in the base and because his charisma is nonexistent," he said.
Pence's new group includes former White House aides Kellyanne Conway and Larry Kudlow and President Ronald Reagan's attorney general Ed Meese, the release said.
