Donald Trump says Mike Pence should endorse him after he bowed out of 2024 race

Former President Donald Trump quipped that Mike Pence should endorse him on Saturday night after his former vice president dropped out of the 2024 Republican nomination contest.

Speaking in Las Vegas, Nevada, at a Commit to Caucus event, his second major speech of the day, Trump took a moment to acknowledge Pence’s announcement earlier in the day.

“Everybody that leaves seems to be 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.”

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Trump also used the speech to take shots at President Joe Biden, at one point polling the crowd on whether “Sleepy Joe” or “Crooked Joe” was a better nickname. Crooked Joe appeared to win.

He also touted his plans for a second term, saying he would focus on finishing the border wall and improve the economy.

“We’re people of common sense. We need a wall, we want good education, we want low interest rates, we want a strong military,” he said.

Trump and Pence have had a strained relationship ever since the events of Jan. 6, 2021, which concluded with the storming of the Capitol in Washington D.C.

In his memoir, ‘So Help Me God,’ Pence claims Trump derided him for being “too honest” in his refusal to attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump allegedly made the remarks days before Jan. 6.

In June, Pence said of the events: “As I’ve said many times, on that fateful day, president Trump’s words were reckless. They endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol. But the American people deserve to know that on that day, president Trump also demanded that I choose between him and the constitution. Now, voters will be faced with the same choice: I chose the constitution and I always will.”

John Locher/AP

Earlier Saturday, Pence announced he was suspending his 2024 presidential campaign, admitting to an audience at the Republican Jewish Coalition, also in Las Vegas, “this is not my time.”

Trump also spoke at the same event, which he used to threaten Hamas and Iran in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Israel earlier this month.

“When I am back in the White House, our enemies will once again realize that ‘if you spill a drop of American blood, we will spill a gallon of yours,’” he warned.

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The Nevada caucus takes place on Feb. 8, 2024. There is also a primary on Feb. 6, but Republicans have indicated they will boycott the earlier event, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is trailing Trump in the polls, has accused the Nevada Republican chairman, Michael McDonald, of being a “Trump puppet.”