Former Vice President Mike Pence ripped his ex-boss again on Wednesday, mocking President Donald Trump’s claim today that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a “dictator.”
Pence wrote on X, “Mr. President, Ukraine did not ‘start’ this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The Road to Peace must be built on the Truth.”
It was the latest blast by Pence at Trump since the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, one that scuttled any chance of a makeup suggested by their handshake at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral in January.
Mr. President, Ukraine did not “start” this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The Road to Peace must be built on the Truth.
“Russia Invades Ukraine in Largest European Attack Since WWII” @FoxNews (February 24,… pic.twitter.com/HsWGdyCGOz
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) February 19, 2025
For some friends and old associates of Pence, the four-year split with Trump is sad and one they hoped the two could overcome.
Count CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp in that group. In a perfect world, Schlapp would be hosting both Trump and Pence at his annual CPAC conference, the conservative-studded affair expected to reach its apex this week now that the GOP has control of the White House and Congress.
— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) February 19, 2025
But instead, it is another year where Pence is on the sidelines after declining to attend in 2021.
“Mike Pence and Donald Trump both spoke all four years Trump was president. And in candor, I called Mike Pence after the 2020 election and told him he should come back, yes. And he very, very politely and graciously demurred. And I told him, ‘You know, Mr. Vice President, you’re gonna have to take your lumps one day and just take them. Take them with respect. I’ve taken my lumps. Take your lumps. You shouldn’t lose your connection to this community,” Schlapp said.
Even after Pence ran for president in 2024, Schlapp said he feels the same way, although he wasn’t invited to the CPAC confab that starts tomorrow.
“I consider him a friend. He’s an honorable man. Yes, I think he’s misreading politics, and I think he’s over-moralizing politics, and I think the moral case is to fight like Hell to save a free society,” said Schlapp.
“The thing is, I think that people around him were like, he’s gonna get rough treatment, get boos, and I think it would be smart for him to take the boos, let people get it out of their system. Just like any relationship in your life, you want to avoid uncomfortable stuff, but you can’t always, and sometimes it’s best just to deal with it. And I think people know he’s a decent guy. They think that he has allowed his personal animosity toward the president to get in the way of helping save the country because he’s on the sidelines now. He plays no significant role,” he added.
Pence founded Advancing American Freedom, a Reaganesque think tank that aims to strengthen the Republican Party, a theme in line with CPAC’s mission.
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While unlikely, considering his continued criticism of Trump, Schlapp told Secrets that he believes the former vice president should make peace.
“I think he ought to get back on the Trump train. I think that Trump trains is what’s saving the country, and anybody who’s not on it is not helping,” said Schlapp, adding, “I think he’s essentially made himself irrelevant, and that’s kind of a shame for somebody who played such a key role for four years and before in the conservative movement.”
