Mike Pence
Historical Details
Position on Issues
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"Former Vice President Mike Pence, in the Granite State on Thursday, argued in a speech to a New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women luncheon and fundraiser that 'not surprisingly, President Biden and the Democrats have already sought to politicize this national tragedy. Predictable calls for gun control.'
"Guns are not responsible for these heinous crimes. The gunmen who committed these murderous acts are responsible for these heinous crimes,' Pence charged. 'Eroding the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens is not the answer.'"
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Candidate's Twitter Feed, 2023
"I have a simple plan to end Washington’s tyranny:
✅ Eliminate the Department of Education and give education dollars directly to states that provide school choice.
✅ On housing, highways and welfare, we’ll give states the money with no strings attached."
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"Let me tell you, I voluntarily left Congress after 12 years because I think two terms in the Senate, six in the House is enough for any American. I support term limits and I always will."
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Candidate's Website, 2023
"President Biden’s most egregiously inflationary policy is without question his unsustainable and unnecessary spending binge. ... Vice President Pence is already scouring federal budgets to identify areas where spending can be responsibly cut, and wasteful programs eliminated."
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government combat inflation by capping price increases by large businesses?
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When asked whether presidents should pass a mental and physical fitness test at the August 2023 debate, Pence responded, "It might be a good idea for everyone in Washington D.C. to do that." After the crowd laughed he added, "No, the American people can make those judgements."
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government combat inflation by decreasing tariffs on imports from foreign countries?
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Like most other presidential candidates, Pence has not specifically said whether he would send U.S. military troops to defend Taiwan if China attacks the island. When asked the question directly in July 2023 Pence answered, "I would say to you that I'm somebody that believes that it's no advantage to say what you would or wouldn't do. I thought one of the catastrophic errors that President Biden made before the Russian invasion in Ukraine was he signaled that if it was just a, if it was just a small invasion, that maybe we wouldn't send troops or we wouldn't respond. Look, Margaret, we never say what you'll never do. The United States of America should continue to be providing Taiwan with the military means to defend themselves. What we want is a policy of deterrence."
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"Bidenomics is a failure, wages aren't keeping up with inflation, and [electric vehicle] mandates are crushing autoworkers in places like Michigan. What's putting those people on the picket line is Joe Biden trying to shut down their industry."
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In a policy statement, Pence included support for H.R. 638, a bill that "ends permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with China and requires the President to certify each year, subject to congressional disapproval, that China deserves most favored nation (MFN) trading status."
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At an event at the University of Virginia Pence said, "I know that in his State of the Union address, President [Joe] Biden promised to stand for the God-given right of men to compete in women's sports." He added, "I expect there are some outstanding women athletes in the room today — maybe some looking on. And we need to defend the integrity of women's sports in America for the benefit of women everywhere."
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"And as we talk about the possibility of national standards, a 15-week standard, which would put America more in line with most of the European Union, most of the European countries have either a 12 to 15- week rule on abortion. Our laws today are more in line with China, Iran, and North Korea. And for my part, if I have the great privilege to serve as president of the United States, I'll support the cause of life at every level, the state level, the local level with taxpayer dollars, and at the national level."
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"And as we talk about the possibility of national standards, a 15-week standard, which would put America more in line with most of the European Union, most of the European countries have either a 12 to 15- week rule on abortion. Our laws today are more in line with China, Iran, and North Korea. And for my part, if I have the great privilege to serve as president of the United States, I'll support the cause of life at every level, the state level, the local level with taxpayer dollars, and at the national level."
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Candidate's Website, 2023
"The first step President Biden took to increase oil and gas prices was to freeze all production leases and permits on federal lands. The results have been disastrous. While Biden’s leasing ban was tied up in federal courts, the number of new permits for drilling plummeted from 4,900 in 2021 to 2,900 in 2022. Simply put, the government is cutting off oil drilling at the time when prices are rising, and American energy leadership is shrinking globally. Just last month Biden submitted rules to increase the fee for drilling royalties for the first time since 1920 and hike production costs by more than 33%. Our competitors are controlling the spigot and setting prices because we refuse to lead the world in oil production. President Pence will not ignore the fact that drilling technology makes it possible for America to lead the world and take advantage of the shale revolution by opening federal lands for leasing."
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Pence was Vice President when then-president Trump proposed raising the legal age to purchase certain firearms. However, Pence was not a vocal supporter of that idea. More recently Pence has said, "We don’t need gun control. We need crime control."
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Pence has not explicitly addressed whether he would support federal legalization of marijuana as president, but he has opposed many legislative efforts that support legalization at the state level. For example, Pence criticized a Covid-19 relief bill by saying, "In the House of Representatives, I heard the other day that the bill that they passed actually mentions marijuana more than it mentions jobs." (The bill included provisions related to banking for marijuana businesses.)
In a 2012 gubernatorial debate he also said, "To be candid with you, growing up in the Hoosier State, I’ve seen too many people become involved with marijuana and have their lives sidetracked as a result."
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At his presidential campaign announcement in Iowa Pence identified Social Security and Medicare as "the biggest drivers of runaway spending" and said, "As your president I promise you I will tell the American people the truth about our debt crisis and we will offer commonsense and compassionate reforms to save these programs for seniors today and give young Americans a better deal tomorrow." However, he has not specifically addressed means testing.
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Candidate's Twitter Feed, 2020
"If Joe Biden was elected President, his plan for Obamacare would lead us toward socialized medicine. With four more years of President @realDonaldTrump, we’ll have healthcare reform based on freedom and free markets and we’ll give Americans the healthcare reform they deserve."
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"Look, we got to stop putting Band-Aids on the problem. We got to stop having small little fixes and programs. We've got to secure our border. We got to finish that wall. We got to put remain in Mexico policy back into effect, Title 42. We got to end illegal immigration and asylum abuse like we did in our administration, then we got to fix this broken immigration system once and for all."
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Pence has not specifically addressed if he would support U.S. military action in Mexico without the cooperation of the Mexican government. However, he supports joint military action with Mexico. At the August 2023 debate he said, "I want to promise you, as president of the United States of America, I will engage Mexico the exact same way, and we will partner with the Mexican military, and we will hunt down and destroy the cartels that are claiming lives in the United States of America."
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"I know that some in this debate have called the war in Ukraine a territorial dispute. It's not. It was a Russian invasion, an unprovoked Russian invasion. And I believe the United States of America needs to continue to provide the courageous soldiers in Ukraine with the resources they need to repel that Russian invasion and restore their territorial integrity. We're the leader of the free world. We're the arsenal of democracy."
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At the debate in August 2023 Ramaswamy pressed Pence to commit to pardoning Trump. Pence responded, "I've actually given pardons when I was governor state of Indiana. It usually follows a finding of guilt and contrition by the individual that's been convicted. ... If I'm president in the United States, we'll get fair consideration of any pardon request."
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When asked about President Biden's plan to negotiate prescription drug prices, Pence told Semafor, "I would have concerns about, ultimately, being able to use the power of the government to impose price controls under the free market."
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At a CNN Town Hall Pence said, "Look, I think, every time the American people have been given the truth about a challenge our nation is facing, and then given commonsense and compassionate reforms, which would include reforming the system -- it could be a change in the age of eligibility, but it also could include letting younger Americans invest a portion of their payroll taxes in a mutual fund, like the TSP program that 10 million federal employees are in today."
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At his presidential campaign announcement in Iowa Pence identified Social Security and Medicare as "the biggest drivers of runaway spending" and said, "As your president I promise you I will tell the American people the truth about our debt crisis and we will offer commonsense and compassionate reforms to save these programs for seniors today and give young Americans a better deal tomorrow." However, he has not specifically addressed the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax.
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At a CNN Town Hall Pence said, "Look, I think, every time the American people have been given the truth about a challenge our nation is facing, and then given commonsense and compassionate reforms, which would include reforming the system -- it could be a change in the age of eligibility, but it also could include letting younger Americans invest a portion of their payroll taxes in a mutual fund, like the TSP program that 10 million federal employees are in today."
No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government combat inflation by raising taxes to reduce the budget deficit?
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No Response
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2023
Should the federal government combat inflation by repealing or revising the Jones Act to allow more foreign involvement in shipping between U.S. ports?
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Candidate's Website, 2023
"Repeal President Biden’s unfair student loan forgiveness scheme that punishes Americans who didn’t go to college, saving $400 billion."Against| Read My Position
Candidate's Website, 2023
"During the pandemic, the Fed artificially dropped interest rates in order to fulfill their responsibility to promote job growth. Cheaper, more abundant money made it easier for sellers to increase prices and made inflation worse. Now, Chairman Powell is dramatically increasing interest rates to respond to the crisis by making cars and homes more expensive and likely pushing the U.S. economy towards a recession.
"These jarring shifts in Federal Reserve monetary policy send shockwaves through the economy and result in a cycle of recessions and inflation. Instead of focusing on jobs and inflation, the Fed should be solely concerned with keeping interest rates stable and fighting inflation. Fostering American jobs should be up to the policies implemented by the President and Congress."
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