Beyond the cackles of the Twitterverse about the cognitive dissonance behind Pence’s comments, Pence advisers and allies see a clear strategy: He’s running for president and making a buck for once in his life, until he can’t anymore. “You should not underestimate Pence—he has broad support among the big donors and in Congress, beyond just evangelicals,” said one longtime friend. “He’s incredibly ambitious. He’s a person who sees himself as the president. In the meantime, he’s making real money for the first time in his life. Running for president is also a great way of making six-figure speeches.”

The best explanation for Pence continuing to poll well among a group of people who, at least in part, likely see him as a traitor to their idol, is simple name recognition. As the man who stood loyally by Trump for five years, he reaped the regular attention (and frequent ridicule) of voters. Some are skeptical that his favorable numbers will hold up in the long term. “The only reason why he’s surviving in the field is because it’s so early in the cycle. After the midterms, which Trump will claim victory for, Pence is done,” said veteran pollster Michael Cohen (not the former Trump lawyer). “I feel badly for Pence, who did the right thing on January 6 and tried to keep Trump in line through the term. But there’s no way he’s going to be the next president.”

And for all the clear self-effacing, Pence continues to come up in the news, keeping his name in the mix. A raft of Trump books released in the summer revealed new details on the former president’s various attempts to undermine democracy—including his campaign to strong-arm Pence into voting against the certification of the 2020 election results. Evidently, it was a former vice president who ultimately convinced Pence he was powerless in that regard. If you had “Dan Quayle saves the republic” on your 2021-is-batshit-crazy bingo card, boffo for you.