“For the most part, it’s been like ‘Hey, we aren’t really having this conversation,’ and then like, ‘Walk us through it,’” said this person. (A Pence spokesperson declined to comment). Less thirsty but still in the mix is Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary. “I don’t get the sense she’s actively pursuing anything,” the Pence world insider said. She’s in touch with the insider but hasn’t explicitly brought up the vice presidency.
The early advice the Pence insider gives them: “Look at ways to add value,” this person said. “Find ways to be helpful, whether that’s raising money, being a surrogate on the ground or on TV. Be visible to Trump world so they see that you’re helping the cause. And then I think it’s figuring out who you can build relationships within Trump’s orbit — because that’s an ever-shifting orbit.” Some of the questions have been pretty open ended: How does this all work? How many years of taxes should the principal be gathering?
The behind the scenes maneuvering comes as public posturing against Pence has become an early litmus test in the veepstakes. Given Trump’s continued baseless complaints about the outcome of the 2020 election, Pence has been attacked for refusing to use his ceremonial role in the Senate to interfere with the election results and try to block Joe Biden from being certified as president on Jan 6. 2021. “I would not have done what Mike Pence did,” Stefanik said earlier this month on CNN. “I don’t think that was the right approach.”
Openly campaigning for the job of vice president is considered poor form. But that hasn’t stopped many of these candidates from doing so this weekend at the Conservative Political Action Coalition confab at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The event featured Stefanik, Noem, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and Vivek Ramaswamy, and the Pence world insider confirmed he expected to meet directly with at least Noem during her time in D.C.
A spokesperson for Stefanik did not respond to a request for comment. A person close to Scott said there had been no such outreach or communications. A Noem spokesman said “No such conversations have taken place. There is no truth to these claims.” A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question about whether backchanneling with Pence allies would hurt a candidate’s prospects.
There’s a reason they’re coming to a Pence consigliere, of course. Sure, M-i-k-e is now a four-letter word in Trump’s circles, but not long before Jan. 6, and the “hang Mike Pence” chants, Pence was still considered something of a Trump whisperer. Pence and his advisers expertly navigated an Apprentice-like final competition to win a spot on Trump’s ticket. In the summer of 2016, Newt Gingrich flew to Indianapolis on Sean Hannity’s plane to square off against Pence in dueling final interviews with Trump. Meanwhile, Pence and his wife ordered a breakfast quiche from a local grocer and picked flowers from the Indiana governor’s residence at midnight to charm Trump, Ivanka and Don Jr. over brunch later that morning. “It apparently made an impression,” Pence wrote in his memoir So Help Me God.
Though Pence himself is radioactive to large portions of Trump’s base, his close circle of advisers — particularly those who have maintained ties to both camps in the divorce — are a valuable resource to potential vice presidential picks. They know what it’s like to navigate the topsy-turvy Trump orbit.
