Donald Trump and Mike Pence have both remained mostly behind the scenes since leaving office.
There’s a lot of speculation surrounding the status of the relationship between the two after Pence exercised his constitutional duty to count the results of the Electoral College on January 6.
And Mike Pence just turned down an opportunity to make amends with Trump supporters.
Since the 1970s, the biggest stars in the conservative movement have gathered annually at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to speak to activists about the direction of the movement.
This year’s annual CPAC takes place this weekend in Orlando, Florida, where Trump is scheduled to make his first public speech on Sunday since leaving office in January.
However, Mike Pence apparently rejected an opportunity to address the conservative crowd at CPAC over the weekend.
Fox News reports:
Former Vice President Mike Pence has declined an invitation to attend this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, Fox News has learned.
Pence was invited to speak at the annual event but turned it down, according to a source familiar with the event planning.
Most folks agree that speaking at CPAC would give Mike Pence the opportunity to make amends with Trump supporters and show them he’s still on their side.
But as CPAC Executive Director Dan Schneider told MSNBC, Pence made a huge mistake by rejecting their offer to speak this weekend at the conference.
“We are pleased that the President will be joining us, and we’re disappointed the Vice President’s not coming. We think it’s a mistake for him not to come. We conservatives think of Vice President Pence with great honor and dignity. He is a real champion of conservatism,” Schneider stated.
Of course, Pence may have rejected the offer out of fear of being booed or hissed by Trump supporters who are still angry at him for exercising his constitutional duty to count the results of the Electoral College.
But Scheneider tried to ease these worries by assuring Pence he would be “greeted very warmly” by the crowd at CPAC just like he has several times in the past when he spoke there.
However, at the moment, Pence is still refusing to accept the offer to speak at CPAC, which no doubt will further distance him from Trump supporters.
