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President Donald Trump is unconcerned about his former vice president’s refusal to endorse his presidential bid, telling reporters that he “couldn’t care less.”
“I couldn’t care less,” Trump replied moments after voting in the Florida primary on Tuesday. “We need patriots. We need strong people in our country.”
He continued, “Our country is going downhill very fast—very rapidly. Millions of people coming across the border, coming from jails, from prisons, coming from mental institutions and insane asylums—terrorists.”
Trump then concluded that the nation did not “need weak people,” insinuating that his former Vice President Mike Pence would fit into this category of inadequacy.
The president’s dismissal comes shortly after his former ally announced that he could not “in good conscience” endorse Trump, mentioning that “profound differences” separated himself and his former boss “on a range of issues.”
“Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years, and that’s why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign,” Pence cited during an exclusive interview with Fox New’ “The Story” on Friday.
Among their differences, Pence referenced his disagreement with the president on what constitutional duties fell under the vice president during the electoral vote count on January 6, Trump’s policies on the national debt and abortion, and Trump’s opposition to a ban on TikTok.
Pence previously ran for the presidency in June 2023 and even signed the Republican National Committee’s loyalty pledge, vowing to support the party’s nominee. After receiving little support, he suspended his campaign in October.
However, Pence’s refusal to support his former boss is a flip-flop from his earlier signing of the loyalty pledge, as well as when he raised his hand during the first 2024 GOP primary debate where he vowed to support President Trump if he secured his party’s nomination, according to a report from the Daily Wire.
While Pence will not be supporting Trump, he expressed that he would still not cast his vote for Joe Biden. It is unclear which third-party candidate, if any, the former vice president may endorse.