Trump rules out ‘human conveyor belt’ Mike Pence for 2024 mate

The former and perhaps future POTUS spoke with the outlet from Mar-a-Lago, his South Florida resort that now serves as his headquarters and when asked about whether he would be teaming up with Pence who he called a “really fine person.”

“I don’t think the people would accept it,” Trump said, opening the door for a fresh face and loyal partner if and when he tabs a running mate.

The relationship between the two Republicans was possibly damaged irreparably over differences about the validity of the 2020 election, a contest that the former president contends was not on the up-and-up,  an opinion that he maintains despite the insistence of many in the GOP that the party needs to focus on the future rather than the past.

“Mike and I had a great relationship except for the very important factor that took place at the end. We had a very good relationship,” he said. “I haven’t spoken to him in a long time.”

Pence’s refusal to overturn the Electoral College certification on the fateful day of January 6, 2021 when Congress gathered to put their stamp of approval on Biden’s victory infuriated Trump as well as many of his supporters who saw it as an act of betrayal, the chaos at the Capitol that briefly delayed the process drove a wedge between the two men.

“Mike thought he was going to be a human conveyor belt, that no matter how fraudulent the votes, you have to send them up to the Old Crow,” Trump said, referring to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell using one of the nicknames that he has often bestowed upon his adversaries.