Mike Pence Comes Out Swinging Against Populism In The GOP, Slams Trump’s Call For The ‘Termination’ Of The Constitution

Donald Trump’s former vice president turned 2024 presidential primary rival, Mike Pence, came out swinging on Wednesday against populism in the GOP and took aim at his former boss.

Pence’s campaign released a preview of a speech will give in New Hampshire Wednesday titled “Populism vs. Conservatism” and will make the case that right-wing populists are akin to and progressive as both “are fellow travelers on the same road to ruin.”

“Will we be the party of conservatism, or will our party follow the siren song of populism?” Pence is set to say, according to a preview of the speech shared with Axios’s Mike Allen.

Pence will also take a not-so-subtle jab at Trump, saying:

A leading candidate last year called for ‘the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution’ … while his imitators have a demonstrated willingness to brandish government power to silence critics and impose their will on opponents.

Pence is referring to a December 2022 post by Trump, in which he wrote, on Turth Social, “Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”

Pence joined Fox News’s Bill Hemmer on Wednesday morning to discuss his new more aggressive campaign strategy.

“One of the lines you’re set to deliver is, are we going to follow the siren song of populism away from the timeless conservative principles of the Republican Party? To whom are you referring?” Hemmer asked Pence.

“Well, look, you look at this Republican field, whether it’s my former running mate or some of his imitators, and there is a push in this Republican primary to to move us away from our party’s historic commitment to American leadership on the world stage, to a commitment to fiscal responsibility and reform in the face of a massive national debt crisis,” Pence shot back, adding:

You know, I came to this party, Bill, during the Reagan years, and and I really believe not only the pathway to victory for the Republican Party in the fall of 24, but the way we restore security and prosperity for the American people is to deliver a standard bearer and an agenda that’s built on that commonsense conservative agenda that has always delivered greater security and prosperity for the American people. And I say with great humility that I’m the most proven, the most consistent, the most qualified and the most tested conservative in this race.

Watch the full clip above via Fox News.