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If Pence is seeking solidarity, however, it has not entirely been reciprocated. Since January 6, Trump and Pence have talked more than five times, according to a Pence aide, including three this month. But the two have mostly gone their own separate and distinct ways. And Trump aides say they are not keeping tabs on his political machinations like they are for other leading Republicans. Indeed, a handful of those contacted for this piece confided that they had no idea Pence was making his post-White House debut on Thursday.
“The Vice President’s foray into 2024 politics will be met with a more reserved golf clap,” said a former Trump senior administration official, who described Trump’s relationship with Pence as “cordial but not intimate.”
Inside Trump World, there is a sense that Pence no longer has his the utility he once did. When he was chosen as Trump’s running mate in 2016, it was in large part because of his appeal to evangelical conservative voters and the need to sooth over the GOP establishment. But political advisers to the 45th President see evangelicals as one of his most steadfast voting blocs now. And Trump himself has replaced or driven out the establishment that once recoiled at him.
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