Pence: Story on possible 2020 presidential run ‘disgraceful’
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Vice-President Mike Pence has pushed back against a news report suggesting he is laying groundwork for a possible presidential bid in 2020 if President Donald Trump does not run.
In a statement released by the White House, Pence said Sunday’s story in The New York Times “is disgraceful and offensive to me, my family, and our entire team.” He added that “the allegations in this article are categorically false.”
The formal rebuttal of a news report by the vice-president was an unusual move. In it, Pence also said his team will “focus all our efforts to advance the president’s agenda and see him re-elected in 2020.”
The report details efforts of several Republicans looking ahead to 2020, calling it a “shadow campaign.” It notes Pence’s political schedule and active fundraising, though it also says unnamed advisers have signalled that he’d only run if Trump doesn’t.