Former Vice President Mike Pence will urge Republicans to move on from the 2020 election and will declare “there is no room in this party for apologists for Putin,” a remark some observers say is an escalation of his break from former President Donald Trump.
Pence, according to excerpts of a speech he was to give Friday evening to the party's top donors in New Orleans, will take on those in his party who have failed to forcefully condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has used language that some critics have called overly deferential to Putin, as he has insisted the attack never would have happened on his watch.
For his part, Trump has said he flatly condemns the brutality unfolding in Ukraine, but he has also been critical of the Biden administration and NATO allies for not offering sufficient incentive for Putin to halt his invasion. He has also criticized the degree of sanctions being used as insufficient to deter Putin.
Pence comments
“Where would Russian tanks be today if NATO had not expanded the borders of freedom? There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin,” Pence will say, according to excerpts from the speech. “There is only room for champions of freedom.”
Pence has found himself in conflict with his former boss, who maintains the vice president had the power to overturn the 2020 election. Trump contends the election was marred by fraud.
Trump has been teasing a comeback bid, potentially putting the two former running mates in direct competition.
“Elections are about the future," he will say. "My fellow Republicans, we can only win if we are united around an optimistic vision for the future based on our highest values. We cannot win by fighting yesterday’s battles, or by relitigating the past.”
Pence has been increasingly willing to take positions at odds with those of Trump — a dramatic departure from his deferential posture as vice president.
Last month, Pence directly rebutted Trump’s claims that he could have overturned the results of the 2020 election.
The biggest target: Joe
Still, he will join his party Friday evening in blaming Joe Biden for Putin's efforts, accusing the current president of having “squandered the deterrence that our administration put in place to keep Putin and Russia from even trying to redraw international boundaries by force.”
“It’s no coincidence that Russia waited until 2022 to invade Ukraine,” he will say. “Weakness arouses evil and the magnitude of evil sweeping across Ukraine speaks volumes about this president.”