WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Former Vice President Mike Pence will urge Republicans to move on from the 2020 election and will declare that 鈥渢here is no room in this party for apologists for Putin鈥� as he further cements his break from former President Donald Trump.
Pence, in a speech Friday evening to the party's top donors in New Orleans, will take on those in his party who have failed to forcefully condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
鈥淲here would Russian tanks be today if NATO had not expanded the borders of freedom? There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin,鈥� Pence will say, according to excerpts from the speech. 鈥淭here is only room for champions of freedom.鈥�
Pence does not directly reference the former president in excerpts shared ahead of his remarks. But Trump has repeatedly used language that has been criticized as deferential to Putin, including calling the Russian leader 鈥渟mart鈥� while insisting the attack never would have happened on his watch.
Pence will also continue to push back on Trump's lies about the 2020 election as he lays the groundwork for a possible 2024 presidential run. Trump, who has been teasing his own comeback bid that could potentially put the two in direct competition, has continued to falsely insist that Pence had the power to overturn the 2020 election, which he did not.
鈥淓lections are about the future," Pence will say. "My fellow Republicans, we can only win if we are united around an optimistic vision for the future based on our highest values. We cannot win by fighting yesterday鈥檚 battles, or by relitigating the past.鈥�
Pence has been increasingly willing to challenge Trump 鈥� a dramatic departure from his deferential posture as vice president.
Pence has said the two men will likely never see 鈥渆ye to eye鈥� on the Capitol insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to stop certification of Joe Biden's election victory And last month, he that he, as vice president, could have overturned the results, telling a gathering of lawyers in Florida that Trump was 鈥渨rong.鈥�
Still, he will join the oft-stated view of Trump and others in the Republican Party Friday evening in blaming President Biden for Putin's actions, accusing the current president of having 鈥渟quandered the deterrence that our administration put in place to keep Putin and Russia from even trying to redraw international boundaries by force.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 no coincidence that Russia waited until 2022 to invade Ukraine,鈥� Pence will say, according to excerpts. 鈥淲eakness arouses evil, and the magnitude of evil sweeping across Ukraine speaks volumes about this president.鈥�
While Pence allies believe that that brings together movement conservatives, white Evangelical Christians and more establishment-minded Republicans, Trump鈥檚 attacks on Pence have made him deeply unpopular with large swaths of Trump鈥檚 loyal base, potentially complicating his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Pence on Jan. 6 had to be whisked to safety with his family as a mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol building, some chanting 鈥淗ang Mike Pence!鈥�
Jill Colvin, The Associated Press
