WASHINGTON
Former Vice President Mike Pence will not run for president or any other office in 2028. Instead, he is building an institutional platform to remake the Republican Party after Donald Trump leaves the presidency—a direct challenge to the direction Vice President JD Vance is steering the party.
In an interview with MSNBC, Pence laid out a stark critique of the Trump administration's economic and foreign policy. He said Republicans must define "what we're for before we focus on who we're for"—a signal that the party needs ideological clarity before the 2028 succession fight, and a rebuke of Vance's emerging leadership.
Pence called Trump's tariffs "a profound departure" from conservative economic doctrine and said they have left the economy "struggling." He also attacked Vance over Ukraine, expressing disappointment that the vice president has boasted about ending U.S. support for Kyiv. On abortion, Pence criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for moving too slowly to ban the abortion pill, calling him "a pro-abortion secretary."
Pence was more measured on military matters. He said he was "proud" that Trump ordered military strikes against Iran, though he pressed the president to "finish the job."
The thrust of Pence's message: the "Trump-Pence years" are over, and the party needs a new direction rooted in what he calls the conservative principles of the Reagan era.
Pence's vehicle for this project is his think tank, Advancing American Freedom, which has grown so rapidly it recently leased a second floor. The organization has recruited policy experts from the Heritage Foundation and is positioning itself as the intellectual home for a post-Trump Republican center-right.
Pence made his 2028 intentions official at an Economic Club of Washington event, where David Rubenstein, the organization's chair, pressed him directly on his political future. Pence said he has "no plans" to run for president or any other office and will not "reenter the political arena."
He emphasized that the Republican Party has "a very deep bench" and "lots of great talent"—a clear signal that he sees others, not himself, as the future of the party.
