President Trump declined to give his endorsement to Vice President Pence should he make a White House bid of his own in 2024.
“You’re talking about a long time. You can’t put me in that position,” Trump said Friday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”
{mosads}The president said he would have to evaluate the field of candidates but added that Pence is a “very, very outstanding person.” He said he would give a possible Pence candidacy “strong consideration.”
Pence has not yet indicated his plans for the 2024 presidential race.
Trump and Pence are believed to have a close working relationship, with the president often offering public praise for his top lieutenant. Pence has spent time on the road touting the administration’s accomplishments, both ahead of the 2018 midterms as well as the upcoming elections in 2020. It was recently reported, however, that Trump has largely ditched one-on-one meetings with Pence.
The president is currently facing a two-dozen-strong Democratic primary field ahead of the 2020 race, including former Vice President Joe Biden, who has not yet won the endorsement of former President Obama. Biden said that he asked his former boss not to endorse him, saying “whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits.”