Trump Calls For Pence’s Endorsement After Abruptly Ending Campaign

Former President Trump is calling for his former running mate to throw his support behind his latest campaign after announcing the decision to pause his campaign on Saturday.

Former Vice President Mike Pence suspended his presidential campaign earlier in the day during a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

“People are leaving now and they’re all endorsing me,” Trump said. “I don’t know about Mike Pence. He should endorse me. He should endorse me. You know why? Because I had a great successful presidency and he was the vice president. He should endorse me. I chose him, made him vice president, but people in politics can be very disloyal.”

In his speech, Pence told the crowd it was not his time to lead the country but said he would “never leave the fight for conservative values.” He did not make an endorsement but called on Republicans to stay away from the “siren song of populism.”

“We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regrets,” Pence told the crowd. “The only thing that would have been harder than coming up short would have been if we’d never tried at all.”

In Trump’s speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition, he said that “everybody that leaves” the race was endorsing him, referring to conservative talk radio host Larry Elder and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson. Elder endorsed Trump after suspending his presidential campaign just days ago, saying that Trump’s “leadership has been instrumental in advancing conservative, America-first principles.” 

According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Pence’s polling average was 3.5%, well behind Trump’s average of 59.1%. He was polling in fifth place, behind Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.