I look forward to debating

DES MOINES, IOWA. They once ruled the United States together.
Today, the crack is abysmal.

Ahead of the 2024 election, the former vice president of the United States may become a star witness in the trial against his former boss – and Donald Trump is now stepping up his attacks on him.

– I look forward to debating, says Mike Pence to Aftonbladet after Trump’s mockery.

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Mike Pence puts on the apron and ties a bow around his waist. In front of him, fifty pink pork chops are sizzling on the charcoal grill.

He flips them one by one with an oversized spatula.

– Are you hungry?, asks the former vice president of the United States, to the crowd crowding around him.
– I want you to know that this is not just some kind of photo opportunity for me – I take BBQ very seriously.

The pan is shiny. He sweats catching up with the chops.

After the barbecue, he and wife Karen cruise between the long tables at the Iowa State Fair, where retirees and families with children stuff their mouths full of pulled pork. Puts a hand on the shoulder, listens, looks in the eyes. Gives them ten seconds in the spotlight.

Wants to challenge as presidential candidate

Regardless of whether 64-year-old Pence really likes to grill pork chops or not, he is in Iowa with an important mission: To get votes.
And the Iowa State Fair – a mix of fair, farmers market and funfair – is the place to be seen and heard if you’re a Republican presidential candidate.

The state is always the first to vote in the Republican primary campaign. The idea is: If you do well here, candidates hope they can build momentum into more states. There are five months until then – and Pence is struggling against the wind.

In opinion polls, he languishes at the bottom with only a few percentage points. His former match horse Trump, on the other hand, leads by far, and increases the lead with every indictment he receives against him.

When Mike Pence flips fat-splashed pork chops on the grill on Friday, there is a day left before Trump rolls into town. There will be no hugs between the gentlemen during the stay.

Seven years ago, however, the men were a dynamic duo:
Trump, an unpredictable bulldozer with oceans of charisma — was balanced by Pence, who appeared to be the calm himself, more grounded in traditional conservatism.

But the relationship was frozen in the 2020 election, when Trump refused to release false claims about voter fraud.

Before Mike Pence was to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, 2021, in his ceremonial role as vice president, Trump pressed him, for weeks, to overturn the election results. He refused.
It all culminated in Trump supporters storming Congress in Washington DC chanting “Hang Mike Pence!”.

Key witness in the Trump prosecution – “too honest”

The other week, Trump was accused of doing just that; having tried to cling to power in the last election cycle. Several times in the 45-page indictment, his increased pressure on the vice president, and the notes Pence allegedly took in the weeks before the storming, are described.
At one point, a phone call is mentioned, in which Trump mocks Pence.
“You are too honest”, he is said to have said.
So: Too honest.
Pence’s potential testimony and his memos could become a linchpin for prosecutors in an upcoming trial against Trump.

Perhaps that’s why, in the wake of the new indictment, Trump this past week has stepped up his attack on Pence. In social media posts, he claims that “little Mike Pence” is “delusional”, and has crossed over to “the dark side”.

When Aftonbladet meets Mike Pence in the crowd in Iowa, and asks what his response is to Trump’s escalated attacks, he smiles.
– My answer is: The American people know Mike Pence. They know our family, they know what we stand for.
– I look forward to debating the substantive issues on stage in Milwaukee in just a couple of weeks.
Milwaukee – it’s where all qualified Republican candidates will hold their first debate on August 23rd.

But Trump has so far sat on the sidelines, saying he likely won’t show up because he has nothing to gain from a debate.

Pence’s answer can therefore be read as a snitch.

Crack among the Republicans

As Mike Pence continues his handshake tour at the Iowa State Fair, an elderly man wades through the chaos. Holds out fist.
– I think you did the right thing, he says to Pence.

– Traitor!, shouts another passerby.

Andrew Wallace, 21, is among those following Pence with a Trump poster raised above his head.

– He was a good vice-president. Then he betrayed our country, because he did not do what was best for the Republican Party. He was a poor man, he says.

John Rusk, 59, interrupts. He doesn’t know Andrew, but is infuriated by Trump supporters’ talk of election fraud and Pence’s actions on January 6.

– I have been a Republican all my life. But forgive me, Trump does not belong in the White House. I don’t care who runs – but anyone who isn’t Trump has my vote.

He shakes with anger. Words fly between John and Andrew. On the sidewalk in Iowa, the rift in the Republican Party is exposed.

Bites back at Trump with new campaign

On the campaign trail, Mike Pence likes to talk about everything he thinks Biden is doing wrong. The economy, the trans issue, foreign policy. Pence is running a deeply conservative campaign, built on his Christian faith and traditional family values. He trumpets a strengthened border with Mexico, increased defense and is against abortion.
But January 6 and the friction with Trump cannot be avoided, it runs like a red thread through the campaign. And hear from every passing voter, whether they consider Pence a hero or a traitor.

“Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution – and I chose the Constitution,” Pence says over and over again.

Do you think Trump is still a threat to democracy?

– I have been clear about the position I took on January 6. I know I kept my oath, to the Constitution and the American people. But in the end: the verdict on the leadership and the party is up to the Americans, says Mike Pence to Aftonbladet.
He’s trying to bite back at Trump.
In recent days, his campaign has therefore started selling caps and t-shirts with two words from the ex-boss, which he wants to wear with pride:
Too honest.