USA: Republican and former Vice President Mike Pence withdraws his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election

Give up before you lose? Republican and former Vice President Mike Pence announced this Saturday that he is withdrawing his candidacy for the American presidential election. “I have decided to suspend my presidential campaign,” he said in a televised address. “I came to tell you that it has become clear to me: this is not my time,” he defended, addressing a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) at a convention in Las Vegas.

Candidate Pence, who had 3.8% of the vote according to polls, stood little chance against his former boss Donald Trump, who is the big favorite in the Republican primary despite his legal setbacks. In his speech, which took the audience by surprise, he did not give any instructions aimed at supporting one candidate or another.

All eight major GOP candidates are scheduled to speak at a rally this weekend, including Donald Trump, who is leading in the polls, and his closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Trump supporter, then opponent

After years of unwavering loyalty to Donald Trump, his former vice president changed his tune following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. And the evangelical Christian, an outspoken anti-abortion activist, has even decided to challenge his former boss in the 2024 election. Republican primaries, but his chances were quickly diminished.

Activists loyal to the former president consider him a “traitor” because he certified Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election for Congress.