NEW: Mike Pence’s Hilarious Attempt To Stay Relevant Backfires

Former Vice President Mike Pence appears determined to remind Republicans why the party overwhelmingly rejected him in the 2024 primary. Rather than reflecting on his failed presidential run and the clear direction of today’s GOP, Pence is once again inserting himself into the national debate by openly criticizing President Donald Trump and the America First agenda that now defines the conservative movement.

Pence’s latest media blitz has landed with a thud among Republican voters, many of whom view his recent comments as less about policy disagreement and more about a desperate attempt to stay politically relevant.

Instead of rallying behind the Trump-MAGA coalition that delivered victory in 2024, Pence has chosen to sow discord, positioning himself as a voice of the old Republican establishment that voters have repeatedly rejected. The result has only reinforced the growing perception that Pence is badly out of step with the modern GOP.

In March of last year, the former vice president took aim at Trump’s tariff strategy this month, breaking publicly with the administration’s approach to trade. In a post on X responding to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Pence argued that tariffs should be used only as leverage, writing that free trade “lowers the costs of goods and improves the quality of life for every American.”

Actually @SecScottBessent, it is. Tariffs are good as a means to bring nations like China to the table, but free trade lowers the costs of goods and improves the quality of life for every American. Let’s Pursue Free Trade with Free Nations and Revive the American Dream.🇺🇸… pic.twitter.com/XmmPZvWHBr

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) March 7, 2025

The comments came as President Trump moved to impose and then adjust tariffs on Canada and Mexico, while also signaling reciprocal tariffs set to begin in April. The White House has framed the strategy as a necessary step to protect American workers and national security, a core pillar of Trump’s America First agenda.

Pence’s criticism immediately drew backlash from conservatives who see tariffs as an essential tool in countering unfair trade practices and rebuilding U.S. manufacturing. For many in the GOP base, Pence’s stance echoed the same free-trade orthodoxy that dominated Republican politics before Trump reshaped the party.

The pattern was evident in a memo released last year by Pence’s advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom (AAF), which openly criticized the Republican National Committee’s 2024 platform. While briefly praising select Trump-era accomplishments, the group attacked the platform for embracing tariffs, and abandoning what Pence called traditional Republican positions on foreign policy and entitlement reform.

The memo accused the party of retreating on “life and global leadership,” taking issue with Trump’s America First priorities and signaling Pence’s desire to pull the GOP back toward a pre-Trump, neoconservative framework. For many Republicans, the document served as a clear warning that Pence was more interested in reshaping the movement to fit his own views than uniting behind the coalition voters had already chosen.

Waterford Township, Michigan, USA, October 22, 2020.

That pattern has repeated itself across foreign policy as well. Pence has made multiple appearances on liberal media outlets criticizing Trump’s approach to Venezuela and Greenland. During a recent CNN interview, Pence questioned the administration’s tactics, telling Jake Tapper, “I think it’s a question right now, Jake, not of what the President’s trying to accomplish, but how.”

“I have concerns about using what I think is a questionable constitutional authority, imposing unilateral tariffs on NATO allies to achieve this objective, as much as I had concerns about the threat of a military invasion, which apparently is no longer being talked about,” Pence said.

While Pence insists he supports U.S. national security interests in Greenland, his repeated public reservations about tariffs and executive authority have placed him squarely at odds with Trump, who announced a 10 percent tariff on Denmark and allied European nations as leverage in negotiations.

President Trump defended the move on Truth Social, writing, “We have subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration. Now, after Centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back — World Peace is at stake!”

Pence’s divergence from Trump is hardly new. Since leaving office, he has criticized Trump on Ukraine, trade, abortion, and foreign policy, often aligning himself with the very neoconservative wing of the GOP that voters have steadily pushed aside. His advocacy group, AAF, even attempted to undermine the Republican Party platform ahead of the 2024 election, taking issue with Trump-backed positions on tariffs, entitlements, and abortion policy.

For many conservatives, Pence’s latest round of criticism confirms what the 2024 primary already made clear. The Republican Party has moved on, embracing a populist, America First vision under President Trump. Pence, meanwhile, appears stuck in a political past that voters have decisively rejected.