Clay Travis, a conservative radio host, confronted former vice president Mike Pence over his refusal to commit to pardoning Donald Trump if he were elected to office in 2024.
During a tense interview on Wednesday, Travis, co-host of “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show” on conservative talk radio, repeatedly referred to the federal indictment against the former president as politically motivated charges. He suggested that Pence would share this viewpoint, despite Pence previously stating that a potential indictment would cause extreme division.
Pence, who recently announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, acknowledged the seriousness of the charges against Trump, consisting of 37 counts. He stated that he couldn’t defend the allegations.
When asked about potentially pardoning his former boss if elected, Pence evaded the question, deeming it premature.
“I just think it’s premature to have any conversation about that right now,” Pence said.
Travis argued that Trump’s prosecution would establish a negative precedent and challenged Pence further. Travis then accused Pence of avoiding the question and failing to demonstrate leadership, qualities Pence had shown in the past. Travis interpreted Pence’s non-answer as a refusal to pardon Trump.
“With all due respect, when you aren’t telling us what your decision would be, I think you’re dodging the question and, frankly, not stepping up on the front of leadership, which in the past you’ve been willing to do. So to me not answering is a no,” Travis said.
Pence defended his position, emphasizing the importance of knowing the president’s defense and the facts of the case. He highlighted the need to believe in the judicial process and uphold the rule of law.
“Well, look, number one, I don’t think you know what the president’s defense is, do you? What are the facts? We either believe in our judicial process in this country or we don’t. We either stand by the rule of law or we don’t. What I would tell you is―” Pence fired back before Travis interrupted him.
“What I’m hearing is you’re fine with Donald Trump being put in prison, sir, and that to me, since you were his vice president, feels pretty disrespectful,” an exasperated Travis replied.
However, Pence maintaining his stance, responding with laughter and stating his general rule of not discussing hypothetical scenarios.
“I have a standard rule, I don’t talk about hypotheticals,” Pence said.
Listen to the interview below:
Mike Pence refused to answer if he’d pardon Donald Trump on @clayandbuck today. And things got a bit heated as I pressed him on why he wouldn’t answer. Enjoy: pic.twitter.com/VTbzDK6lYR
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 14, 2023
