Mike Pence: I'm 'confident we'll have better choices' than Trump for 2024

Mike Pence said in an NBC interview he does not believe former President Donald Trump, his one-time running mate and boss, will be the best standard-bearer for the Republican Party in 2024, Axios reported on Friday.

"Pence, who has made a break from Trump since the Jan. 6 insurrection, is still mulling a rare bid against a former running mate — a face-off that could get ugly if the Indiana conservative takes on the bombastic former president," reported Shawna Chen. "'I think by the spring our family expects to have a very clear sense of our calling,' Pence told NBC News' Ali Vitali when asked when he will decide whether to launch a presidential bid."

"I think the times call for different leadership. I’m confident we’ll have better choices than my old running mate," said Pence, adding that he believes Americans "want to see us and our politics return to the kind of civility and respect that Americans show one another every day."

Pence and Trump have gradually drifted apart ever since he refused to overturn presidential electors for Joe Biden, a moment that triggered the mob storming the Capitol to chant for his hanging.

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Nonetheless, Pence has refused to cooperate fully with January 6 investigations, claiming that the Constitution's Speech and Debate Clause immunizes him from having to testify to federal prosecutors — a theory that has been broadly panned by legal experts.

Pence is far from the only one considering a run for president. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has kicked off a campaign, with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott expected to follow. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also been heavily hinting at ambitions to run.