Morning Wire XX
[0] After months of speculation and the launch of a presidential exploratory committee, Vice President Mike Pence has announced his candidacy for President of the United States.
[1] His first ad, paid for by his committed to America pack, went after President Trump head on.
[2] A weak man appeases a mob.
[3] A man of courage and character stands up to them.
[4] That day, one man failed the test of leadership, while another stood tall.
[5] And since then, this so -called leader has continued to abandon our conservative principles.
[6] Now with a woke mob trying to take away our freedom, we need a president who won't flinch, who won't try to cut deals with our values, a president with the courage and the faith to lead us through turbulent times and keep America the beacon of freedom for all mankind.
[7] In this episode, we speak to former Vice President Pence about why he believes he's the best choice for GOP voters who want to return to principled conservatism.
[8] I'm DailyWire, editor -in -chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
[9] It's Sunday, June 11th, and this is an extra edition of Morning Wire.
[10] Joining us now to discuss his candidacy for president as former Vice President Mike Pence.
[11] Mr. Vice President, welcome.
[12] First, what led you to run for President of the United States?
[13] Well, John, thanks for having me on morning.
[14] wire.
[15] And let me say, first, I love this country.
[16] My family and I have been given extraordinary opportunities to serve America.
[17] I represented Indiana in Congress, where I led House Conservatives for years, battling the big spenders in my own political party.
[18] And then I served as governor of Indiana, where we cut taxes, expanded educational choice, stood for the right to life, and advanced adoption reform.
[19] And then, of course, four years as vice president of the United States, where I served America at home and abroad.
[20] And with a backdrop of all of that experience, we just believe this country's in a lot of trouble.
[21] I think President Joe Biden has weakened America at home and abroad.
[22] And this is a moment in the life of the nation where I think those of us that have the experience and the background and the conservative principles to be able to bring about change and to put our country back on the right track have a duty to try.
[23] And so my wife and I, just a short while ago, ended up making a decision that we'd step into this effort and started this week in the great state of Iowa announcing my intention to seek the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
[24] Now, in your official announcement and in the ad dropped this week by your committed to America PAC, you wasted no time distinguishing yourself from your former boss.
[25] Will voters be receptive to that message?
[26] Well, you know, I hope as time goes on that people will get to know the Pence's as a family.
[27] One of the things I've concluded, John, is that I'm well known, but I don't think I'm known well.
[28] Most people know me as a loyal vice president standing beside the president of the United States until my oath of office to the Constitution required me to do otherwise.
[29] But the whole story has been, for me, of being a movement conservative.
[30] I joined the Reagan Revolution back when Ronald Reagan was still in the White House, and I've been fighting for the conservative cause over the last 35 years and as people look at our record and they distinguish our actions and not just the actions we took on that fateful day, although in my announcement this week I made it clear that I believe with all my heart that we did our duty on January 6th to support the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution of the United States.
[31] We articulated the constitutional basis for that and we'll continue to make that case and explain that to people across the country.
[32] But also, John, I think there's a real choice in this election between myself, my former running mate, and some other candidates on a broad range of issues, beginning with America's leadership in the world, going to fiscal responsibility, and to our unapologetic stand for the sanctity of life.
[33] When our administration was in office, we stood tall on the world stage, supported our military, stood with our lives, and stood up to our enemies.
[34] But now we have many voices in our party, including my former running mate, that question whether providing the Ukrainian military with the support they need to defend their nation and repel the Russian invasion as international interest.
[35] I've long believed in the Reagan doctrine, the notion that if you're willing to fight the communists there, we ought to give you the resources so we don't have to fight them here.
[36] I've been a strong supporter of U .S. support of Ukraine, and I also think that giving the Ukrainians the ability to win, we'll also send the right message to China as it continues its military provocations.
[37] On the other issues, I've been pro -life throughout my life and now my former running mate and others in our party seeking the Republican nomination are beginning to shy away from a commitment to life just at the moment that we've entered a new era for life.
[38] And I've made it clear that we'll continue to champion that cause at the state level, but also will continue to champion that effort at the national level to protect the unborn.
[39] And finally, it's the debt crisis.
[40] You know, Joe Biden's policy is insolvency.
[41] He refuses to even discuss the possibility of common sense entitlement reforms.
[42] Unfortunately, Donald Trump's policy is the same as Joe Biden, but I think we've got to be honest with the American people and talk about the debt crisis facing our country today and facing future generations of Americans and start to talk about real common sense reforms built on principles that I think we could preserve Social Security for everybody over the age of 40, but we could give younger Americans a better deal than those old New Deal programs by introducing some kinds of reforms that would actually allow them to invest a portion of their payroll taxes in a private savings account.
[43] So those are just high point, top lines, John, but, you know, elections are about choices.
[44] I think different times call for different.
[45] and leadership, and I truly do believe that as time goes on, our willingness to bring our experience and also our consistent commitment to the conservative agenda will carry the day in this nomination.
[46] Now, you've brought up your strongly pro -life stance.
[47] The culture wars issues are playing very prominently in the national discussion this year, and they'll certainly play a big role in the election.
[48] One of the main issues is parental rights and ideological indoctrination in public schools.
[49] As president, how would you handle those issues?
[50] Well, I'm someone that believes that education is a state and local function, but as I said in my announcement speech this week in Iowa, John, the day that I walk into the Oval Office, American families will know and America's parents will know.
[51] They have a champion in the White House.
[52] You know, it's just this last week.
[53] As you've commented on John here on Morning Wire, I mean, we had the Southern Poverty Leadership Center that identified parents' rights groups known as moms' for liberty as a hate group, listing them alongside the KKK and neo -Nazis.
[54] This is the standard approach of the radical left is to initiate a smear campaign against those that are challenging their leftist ideology.
[55] We're not going to have it.
[56] In fact, the foundation I created in Washington, D .C., is partnered with parents' rights groups as well as moms for liberty in challenging radical gender ideologies that's being promoted in the state of Iowa, in the schools.
[57] I mean, believe it or not, in the Linmark community schools, a student has to bring in a permission slip to get an aspirin from the school nurse, but they can get a gender transition plan from the school health department without ever notifying their parents.
[58] That's not bad policy, John.
[59] That's crazy.
[60] And as a father and as a grandfather, I have to tell you, I'm going to stand alongside parents' rights groups in this country as they push back on critical race theory.
[61] as they push back on gender ideology.
[62] And as we did this week, we're going to denounce groups like the Southern Poverty Leadership Center.
[63] The extremists are those who would teach our kids to hate our history and push radical gender ideology on our kids in our schools.
[64] The extremists are not parents who are asserting their rights to train up their children in the way they should go.
[65] You mentioned gender ideology there.
[66] That's something that we covered very heavily here and at the Daily Wire.
[67] Daily Wire host Matt Walsh has exposed apparent fraud in the trans health care industry where they provide what appear to be bogus diagnoses and rubber stamp approval for sex change surgeries.
[68] The Daily Wire has also reported heavily on the industry's lucrative focus on transitioning children.
[69] How would you handle the issue of transgender medical treatments as president?
[70] Well, I wholeheartedly support efforts in states around the country to ban a chemical and surgical transgender.
[71] surgery under the age of 18.
[72] I mean, look, I think we just got to put the interest of our kids first.
[73] And I've made that clear.
[74] Indiana recently passed banned a chemical or surgical gender transition to surgery, and I think in the interest of all of our kids.
[75] And in the wake of growing evidence of profound mental health challenges that emerge in a short period of times in the lives of people who during their early years went through that process.
[76] Now more than ever, we ought to put the interests of our kids first, and I'll support every effort in states around the country and at the national level to ban gender transition, chemical or surgical treatment under the age of 18.
[77] Now, you've strongly defended your own actions on January 6, and you said you would not be looking to pardon J6 defendants should you take office.
[78] But many feel that there's unequal justice that other perpetrators, other rioters involved in disrupting official hearings and destruction of government property have not been treated as harshly as the J6 defendants, how would you address the issue of unequal justice and political weaponization?
[79] Well, John, the first thing I would do as president with a new attorney general in place is not talk about pardons for people that have received due process of law and answered for their actions on January 6th, but I would ask, where are all the rioters who engaged in hundreds of riots costing lives and billions of dollars of damage throughout the summer of 2020.
[80] I mean, look, equal treatment under the law is at the very center of the rule of law in this country.
[81] And I couldn't more strongly agree that the proper response here is that those that perpetrated the Black Lives Matter violence that, again, claimed lives and destroyed billions of dollars of property all summer long, need to be held to the strictest account of the law as well.
[82] We have to restore respect for the law.
[83] We have to restore law and order in this country.
[84] And if I'm president of the United States, we'll ensure that Lady Justice is blind and that we take decisive steps to end the crime wave in our cities, but also hold those to account who, in the name of their political cause, would perpetrate violence against law enforcement officers, innocent civilians or property.
[85] Final question.
[86] This is already a crowded field for the general.
[87] GOP.
[88] Are you convinced you can get the nomination and then build a large enough coalition of Republicans and independents to be elected?
[89] You know, I believe in the American people.
[90] I believe in the boundless capacity of every American to live the American dream.
[91] And I can tell you that in the short period of time following our announcement of our campaign for President of the United States in the state of Iowa this week, we've been overwhelmed at the level of support and enthusiasm, the number of people that are going to Mike Pence 2024 .com and signing up to volunteer or to contribute to our campaign.
[92] And I have a real sense that people are seeing our lifetime of commitment to the conservative agenda, the experience that we would bring to the cause and recognizing that we would bring a candidacy that would not only defeat Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, but would have the chance to not only unite our party, but bring many independence and even many conservative Democrats to bear.
[93] Look, we've got to turn this country around.
[94] I think this country is in a lot of trouble.
[95] The disastrous policies of Joe Biden and the radical left need to be met with not only time -honored conservative principles and experience, but I also believe they need to be met with a new brand of leadership.
[96] You know, I'm someone that believes that democracy depends on heavy doses of civility.
[97] And John, I throughout my public I've always aspired, you know, I tell people I'm conservative, but I'm not in a bad mood about it.
[98] And I've always aspired to treat others the way I want to be treated.
[99] And I think when you look at the challenges that America's facing on the world stage, when you look at the debt crisis that we're facing as a nation, when you look at the crisis at our border in a broken immigration system, and you look at the steady assault on our liberties and values that I think now more than ever the American people want to see us get back to those time on our country.
[100] principles, but they want to see leadership that shows the civility and respect that the American people show each other just about every day.
[101] And so, yes, I think we would have the ability to bring together not only the Republican Party and independence, but many Democrats who know we're better than this.
[102] And I look forward to carrying that message all across the country.
[103] Mr. Vice President, thank you so much for talking with us today.
[104] Do you bet, John.
[105] Good to be with you on Morning Wire.
[106] That was former Vice President and now Republican presidential candidate Mike Pence.
[107] And this has been an extra edition of Morning Wire.