Mike Pence made a statement his week that kind of caught Trump and his supporters off guard.
Trump and his former VP have not exactly been best buds since they left the White House.
Even so, Pence said that he wanted Trump at the debate to take him on, reported ABC News.
Let’s Dance
It is not exactly a surprise that the primary field wants a shot at Trump on the debate stage.
Other than DeSantis and Ramaswamy, nobody is even close to Trump, and Trump has a massive lead over those two as well.
The only way to crack through and gain ground on Trump would be to take him down during a debate.
To that point, Pence stated, “I served alongside the president for a long time and one thing I realized about him is it’s not until it’s over,” reported The Hill.
He continued, “So I’m actually still hoping he shows up, you know, to get on that plane and Trump Force One and head up and out on that stage.”
Individually, none of these candidates are a realistic threat to Trump. Collectively, however, they can do some damage to him.
The only two candidates that I do not expect to attack Trump in his absence are going to be Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, as I believe both of them are working with Trump with two different motives.
I think Ramaswamy has decided to help Trump take out DeSantis, but his payoff is what baffles me since he says he is not open to being a running mate.
Haley, on the other hand, I believe would accept a running mate position or a high-ranking cabinet position.
I am right, we will see one or both of these individuals still in the race on Super Tuesday, all but assuring Trump of a primary win.
In terms of the debate strategy by the other candidates, I would expect the word “coward” to be used quite often for Trump not showing up. I also suspect they will hit him for not signing the pledge to vote for the eventual GOP nominee.
With or without Trump, this week’s debate is going to be very lively.
