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By Ewan Palmer
News Reporter
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Former Vice President Mike Pence has warned against the rise of populism influencing the Republican Party following Donald Trump's election victory.
In a speech at Lakewood's Colorado Christian University on November 15, Pence questioned whether Republicans would continue on the path of "the traditional conservative agenda" that has defined the GOP throughout history or follow the "siren song of populism unmoored to conservative principles," reported ChurchLeaders.com on Monday.
Pence ran and challenged Trump in the GOP primary. During the campaign, he had used similar rhetoric, casting the 2024 election as a fight for the future of conservatism and, in September 2023, already calling on fellow Republicans to reject the "siren song of populism" associated with Trump.
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Newsweek has contacted Pence's office, Trump's transition team and the RNC for comment via email.
The former vice president, whose relationship with Trump fell apart in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, said during his Colorado speech that he had called to congratulate the president-elect over his 2024 victory while also noting other Republicans had achieved "monumental victories" this year. Along with the White House, the GOP also won control of the House and Senate.
He added the "new majorities and new leadership" must "hew to our roots" of traditional conservative values, which include opposing abortion and believing marriage should only be between one man and one woman, reported The Denver Post.
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Pence said these beliefs should be defended against the "rising populist center" that threatens to undermine "traditional conservatism with an agenda fueled in many ways by personal grievance." Pence did not mention any specific person or policy.
"More and more populists would deliberately erode norms of...time-honored principles to achieve their ends, even walking away from a commitment to limited government and free markets to achieve what they believe to be honorable ends," Pence added.
"I believe conservatism begins from a place of gratitude," Pence said. "Gratitude for what we've inherited from the brilliant and flawed people who wrestled with the challenges of having a free society for generations past.
"Populism begins from a different place altogether," he added. "It comes ultimately from the depths of frustration and, oftentimes, anger toward perceived wrongs and injustices—some real, some imagined—and a subsequent desire to bring about a leveling change."
Pence said he understands the "frustrations that have fueled populism" in recent years, but the movement's means to fix societal issues are "wrong."
"Some would say there are times when we ought to do other than the limited government principles of the Constitution," Pence said. "But I submit to you that if we ever lose faith in our Constitution, we won't just lose elections. We'll lose our country forever."
Pence previously cited the Constitution as the reason why he could not support Trump's belief that the former vice president had the authority to not certify the 2020 election results during his ceremonial role as presiding officer of the Senate on January 6, 2021.
"[M]y oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not," he said in a statement at the time.
"Our country is more important than one man. Our Constitution is more important than any one man's career," Pence posted on X, formerly Twitter, in August 2023, after Trump was federally indicted over his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.
"On January 6, former President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution. I chose the Constitution, and I always will."
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