CNN
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Former Vice President Mike Pence argued Wednesday night at CNN City Hall in Iowa, arguing a series of stark differences with his rival Donald Trump as he became president in 2024, before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. pursued other Republican candidates, including
Hours after opening his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, Mr. Pence broke with his predecessor on immigration policy, rights spending and U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
He said he would not revive the policy of separating immigrant families at the border. The policy has been widely criticized, and President Trump didn’t rule out reviving it at his own CNN town hall last month.
Pence also said his other Republican rivals had made a mistake in keeping social security changes off the agenda, telling an audience at Grandview University in Des Moines that the entitlement program would be the only way to drastically cut federal spending. complained that it would be necessary to change
He lashed out at Trump for calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “genius” for invading Ukraine, and accused DeSantis of being naive on the issue. And he continued to criticize the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Pence said he didn’t just disagree with Trump about the past. The two have “different visions of our party”.
“I am a believer in American leadership in the world. rice field.
Still, Mr Pence said he would “support the Republican nominee in 2024” and said he was comfortable making the promise because he doubted Mr Trump’s chances of winning the primary.
“Different times call for different leadership,” Pence said. “The American people don’t look back.
Here are six takeaways from Pence’s CNN Town Hall:
Mr Pence urged the Justice Department not to indict his former boss, saying such an indictment would further divide the country and “send a terrible message to the wider world”.
While Mr Pence said “no one is above the law,” the Justice Department did not resort to prosecution, just as the Justice Department told Mr. Pence’s lawyers last week that it would not press charges. He said he could resolve an investigation into possible document mishandling. For confidential documents found at home.
But in Pence’s case, the former vice president quickly contacted the National Archives and the FBI to return the documents, but Trump resisted handing over the classified material, even after receiving a subpoena last May. Did not return all confidential documents.
Pence’s reaction highlighted the former vice president’s walking a tightrope when it comes to the numerous investigations against his former boss. CNN reported on Wednesday that the Justice Department informed Trump that he was under special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into possible mishandling and obstruction of classified documents, which prosecutors said was the former president’s. It suggests that prosecution is likely.
Pence criticized Trump’s actions at the start of Wednesday’s election campaign and on Jan. 6 at City Hall, but tried to distinguish those actions from the documentary investigation, which led to the FBI’s investigation of Trump’s case. It protested that there were “dozens” of better ways to handle it. before resorting to an unprecedented search of the former presidential palace.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Pence attended the CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall hosted by CNN’s Dana Bash on June 7 at Grandview University in Des Moines, Iowa.
So far, Pence’s sharpest criticism of Trump came when he was asked about the U.S. role in helping Ukraine fight off a Russian aggression.
After arguing that the U.S. should accelerate its assistance to the Ukrainian military, Pence pointed out that in a February 2022 radio interview, Mr. Trump described Putin as a “genius” to invade Ukraine.
“I know the difference between a genius and a war criminal, and I know who needs to win the war in Ukraine,” Pence said. “And it’s the people fighting for freedom, the people fighting to restore national sovereignty in Ukraine. And America – it’s not our war, but freedom is our fight.” And we need to give the Ukrainian people the ability to fight and defend their freedom.”
Pence’s comments are in line with Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations and 2024 rival Nikki Haley, as well as their former boss DeSantis, who ran in the Republican election last month. The former vice president echoed Haley’s veiled attack on DeSantis, who described the war as a “territorial issue,” denouncing such characterization as naive.
“Anyone who thinks that if President Vladimir Putin takes control of Ukraine, he’ll stop, like what we said in Indiana. Something else will happen,” Pence said. “He has no intention of quitting. He has made it clear that he wants to recreate the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Pence attended the CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall on Wednesday.
Pence reiterated his support for “parental rights”, especially when it comes to schools. But he said the same parental judgment should not apply when a minor is seeking transsexual care.
“We strongly support state legislation banning all sex reassignment, chemical and surgical procedures under the age of 18, as we did in Indiana,” he said, adding that even if a parent is to move on to a child’s future. Even when supporting the decision, he said.
All Republican presidential candidates on Wednesday lashed out at what Pence called a “radical gender ideology,” by definition the wrong move by those trying to persuade young people to change their gender identities. is suggested.
“No matter how much an adult wants to live, they can live,” Pence said. “But for the sake of our children, we protect them from radical gender ideologies and say no chemical or surgical transitions before the age of 18.”
When asked about age, Pence likened sex transitions to body art and said, “There’s a reason we don’t let kids get tattoos before they’re 18.”
When Mr. Bash asked what he would say to children and families who felt targeted by his position or ideological allies, Mr. Pence held out what looked like an olive branch.
“I put my arms around them and tell them I love them,” he said. “But I said (to them), ‘Wait a minute.'”
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Pence will address the CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall hosted by CNN’s Dana Bash on June 7 at Grandview University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Pence has been an outspoken anti-abortionist all his adult life. On Wednesday night, he made it clear that he would not deviate from that position.
“I couldn’t be more proud to be vice president in an administration that appointed the three justices who sent Roe v. Wade to the ashes of history and gave America a fresh start,” Pence said. No,’ he said.
On the issue of the federal ban on the procedure, Pence said he supports exceptions to rape, incest and the life of a mother. But even as voters across the country in midterm elections and referendums expressed their outrage over the Supreme Court ruling and subsequent passage of state laws that severely restrict abortion rights, he remains steadfast over the underlying issues. I never tap danced.
“We will not rest or give up until we put the sanctity of life back at the center of American law in every state of the country,” Pence said.
Still, the former vice president acknowledged that his country has a “long way to win the hearts and minds of the American people” and encouraged allies to show both “principle and compassion.”
To that end, he provided appropriate support for social spending programs to support newborns and new parents.
“We have to care about the newborn and the mother as much as we care about the fetus,” Pence said. But he didn’t go so far as to specifically support paid family leave or child care subsidies for all Americans.
Pence said he was “taking a step back” from his work on a landmark Trump-era sentencing reform bill known as the First Steps Act.
“We need to take violent crime seriously and severely, and we need to give cities and states the resources to restore law and order to our streets. And if I were your president, I would.” I promise,” Pence told Bash.
Thousands of federal inmates, most of whom are serving sentences for drug and weapons crimes, were released early from prison under the First Steps Act for good behavior and participation in rehabilitation programs. . The law also relaxed minimum sentence requirements for certain drug offenders.
Asked about Mr. DeSantis’ promise to repeal the First Step Act if elected president, Mr. Pence reaffirmed that he would take a different approach.
“We should think about how to increase the penalties for those who sacrifice their families in this country,” he said.
Pence echoed criticism he directed at his former boss for more than a year, prompting President Trump to appoint deputy commander-in-chief in some states in his ceremonial role as congressional speaker tallying the 2020 electoral votes. He argued that it was a mistake to call for the electoral vote to be overturned. Voting will take place on January 6, 2021.
Pence said he had “frankly hoped to see the president back” from early 2021, but was criticized for improperly changing electoral procedures by some states during the coronavirus pandemic. said they agreed.
“But at the end of the day, I think the Republican Party has to be the party that defends the Constitution,” he said.
Pence also broke with Trump over the legal fate of those who rioted at the Capitol on January 6, after which he faced criminal charges and a conviction. President Trump said he would consider amnesty for many of the rioters, saying they had been treated “very unfairly”.
But Pence said the United States “can never allow what happened on January 6th to happen again in the heart of our democracy.”
“I am not interested in, nor will I forgive, those who beat up police officers and vandalized the Capitol. They need to follow the law,” he said.
