Karen Pence: Trump has ‘stepped away’ from ‘conservative foundations’

Former second lady Karen Pence said former President Trump has “stepped away” from the “conservative foundations” that he ran on in 2016 and served on during his presidency. 

Pence said in an interview on “CBS Mornings” Wednesday that the administration of Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, her husband, governed as conservatives, but the former president has drifted from that. 

“I think the president has stepped away from those conservative foundations, and you see it in a lot of the things that he’s been saying recently,” she said, adding that the shift was her husband’s inspiration to run as a “true conservative.”

She did not specify which of Trump’s statements she was referring to.

Co-host Tony Dokoupil referenced polling from CBS this month that shows likely Republican primary voters in Iowa and New Hampshire widely support Trump but do not see him as a true conservative. 

Pence said if people listen closely to what Trump has been saying, they will raise questions that it is different from what he said five years ago. She said the job for her and her husband is to get people to listen more to what Trump has been saying and recognize the shift. 

“That’s our job tonight at the debate. That’s Mike’s job to get his message out, and that’s one of the reasons we’re here today,” she said, referencing her appearance on the show. 

The former vice president will be one of seven candidates participating in the second GOP presidential debate in Simi Valley, Calif., Wednesday. Trump, who has been the clear front-runner in the race, is skipping the debate for the second time and instead will speak to autoworkers in Michigan. 

Polling has largely shown the former vice president in the mid-single digits around fourth or fifth place in the field. 

The former second lady seemed to indicate in the interview that she does not believe Trump should return to the presidency if her husband does not win the nomination. 

“I don’t think anybody who puts themself above the Constitution should ever be president of the United States,” she said. 

The former president and former vice president were close allies throughout most of the Trump administration, but Pence has criticized his former boss over his conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, and his efforts to get Pence to refuse to certify the results of the 2020 election, which Pence has said would have violated his oath to the Constitution. 

Pence has said Trump was wrong to try to push him to refuse to certify the results and to prioritize himself above the Constitution.