Former Vice President Mike Pence refused to take the bait when he was asked on CNN about his support of Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid to become Speaker of the House.
CNN host Kaitlan Collins set Pence up with the question when discussing Republicans needing to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Kevin McCarthy when he was ousted as speaker last week. But with Pence’s open endorsement of Jordan for the position, Collins thought to remind him of an inconvenient truth.
“Jim Jordan would be an outstanding speaker of the House,” Pence said on “The Source.”
Mike Pence says Jim Jordan, who forwarded a text to Mark Meadows on Jan. 5 with a theory on how Pence could block the certification of the election, would be a great speaker. pic.twitter.com/VLo9Jp3n3I
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 14, 2023
“He is a principled conservative, just as Steve Scalise is, and at a time when we see war raging in Eastern Europe, the worst attack on the Jewish state of Israel since its re-founding in 1948, challenges here at home in our economy, a crisis at our border, the American people want to see the Republican conference come together, elect a speaker, and get back to work,” he added.
Collins jumped in with what she must have thought was a great gotcha of the 2024 presidential candidate.
“It’s interesting to me to hear you say that, that Jim Jordan would be a great speaker, given he was someone who sent a text to the chief of staff on January 5th that outlined for you to violate the Constitution and block the certification of the election. I mean, do you really believe that’s someone who should be third in line for the presidency?” she asked.
“I have immense respect for Jim Jordan. He’s a man of integrity and I’ve known him for many years. I was not aware of his opinion going into January 6th,” Pence replied.
“So that doesn’t bother you?” Collins pressed.
“My interaction with Congressman Jordan in December was simply over the legitimate objections that members of Congress were permitted to file under the law,” the former vice president pushed back.
“But look, we may have a difference of opinion about my duties under the Constitution that day, but I’m very confident that if Jim Jordan becomes speaker of the House, that he’ll lead with integrity,” he added.
Pence seemed to steer the discussion away from the direction Collins was aiming for, as he spoke about American unity in the face of the crisis in Israel.
“And the most important thing is that the Congress come together, that Republicans come together, and elect a speaker because, as you’ve reported on your airwaves, we may well, as we sit here, be just a few hours away from when this war initiated by Hamas with brutal assaults on men, women, and infant children will enter a whole new phase, and it’ll be important throughout that time that America speaks with one voice, that our nation stands with Israel, that we will stand with Israel today, tomorrow, and through all the difficult days ahead,” he said.
Collins wasn’t satisfied.
“Yeah, well it’s remarkable to hear you say that about Jim Jordan,” she quipped.
Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, threw his hat back in the ring after Steve Scalise, R-La., removed himself from the running for the speaker’s chair on Thursday. Republicans nominated Jordan on Friday but there are concerns the Ohio Republican may not be able to secure enough votes to take the gavel.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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