Mike Pence Warns Trump Second Term Left Conservative Track

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Trump’s second administration has “departed” from conservative principles, criticizing its stance on abortion pills, Justice Department initiatives and the handling of Jan. 6 consequences—while arguing Republicans can stil

Sunday morning, Mike Pence didn’t sound like a man looking backward. He sounded like a man trying to stop a direction.

In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press. ” Pence—who served as Trump’s vice president from 2017 to 2021—said the Trump administration in its second term has “departed” from the conservative principles that. he argued. have defined the Republican Party since the days of Ronald Reagan and before that an agenda of American leadership. limited government. free market economics. and “the right to life.”.

Pence said he’s not questioning Trump’s influence with voters. “I don’t think there’s any question about the president’s popularity. ” he said. adding: “I give him all the credit in the world for the hold that he has on Republican voters.” He also insisted that GOP voters still line up with the party’s core conservative principles—if Republicans can show that they mean it.

“If Republicans this fall and in 2028 hold up those time-honored conservative principles, those voters will rally to our cause,” Pence told the “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker.

He acknowledged the political reality inside the party’s base, saying he understands that GOP primary voters want to back Trump-aligned candidates. But he argued the MAGA movement’s center of gravity is still conservative on policy and culture—at least in the way he frames it.

Pence said he believes “the overwhelming majority of people in the MAGA movement” agree the United States should be “the leader of the free world. ” support limited government. lower taxes. and fewer regulations—and would reject “nationalization of businesses and price controls and broad-based tariffs.” At the core. he said. is “a commitment to the sanctity of life.”.

That’s where his criticism sharpened.

Pence criticized the Trump administration for not doing enough to restrict abortion pills. He said the administration appears to want to “relegate the right to life to a state-only issue. ” and he accused it of having a “pro-abortion secretary of HHS who has done nothing to limit the availability of the abortion pill.”.

Then he turned to an argument about what happens when values don’t hold.

Pence warned that the direction of Trump’s second administration could affect Republicans’ chances in the midterm elections this fall. He said if Republicans win, it will be because Democrats are too extreme.

“I think in many respects Republicans have lost our way. but Democrats have lost their mind. and I think the reason why we’re going to hold the Senate. and we have a real shot to hold the House. is because of the extremism on the Democratic side. ” he said. pointing specifically to the Texas Senate race.

Pence’s reference landed on a race already set: last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton beat Sen. John Cornyn to win the GOP nomination, setting up a general election matchup against Democratic nominee James Talarico.

Pence also criticized a Justice Department initiative he described as a problem from the start: the “anti-weaponization fund.” He said the fund includes nearly $1.8 billion that could be paid out to people who believe they’ve been unfairly targeted by the federal government. A federal judge last week temporarily blocked the fund.

Pence called it unacceptable. “I think that the weaponization fund is a bad idea from the start, and I would encourage the administration just to drop it,” he said.

His strongest reaction was reserved for the question of who might benefit.

Pence said the idea that Jan. 6 rioters—who were charged and sentenced for their actions at the Capitol in 2021—could receive payouts from the Justice Department is “deeply offensive.” He tied the issue to Trump’s own actions. noting that when Trump took office for his second term. he pardoned roughly 1. 500 people charged for their actions on Jan. 6.

Pence added that he believes his negative view of the fund is widely shared by Republicans and Americans.

“I mean it’s deeply offensive to me that you could have a fund that could even possibly compensate people who assaulted police officers or vandalized the Capitol on Jan. 6, and I think that’s broadly held by most Republicans and most Americans,” he said.

The sequence of Pence’s comments left little room for misunderstanding: he praised Trump’s pull with Republican voters, but argued the administration’s governing choices are moving away from the conservative agenda he says the party—and his former role inside it—has long promised.

For Pence, the stakes aren’t just ideological. They’re electoral, legislative, and personal—anchored to abortion pills, a Justice Department fund described as anti-weaponization, and the lingering political fight over who should be held accountable for Jan. 6.

Mike Pence Trump administration conservative principles abortion pills HHS anti-weaponization fund Justice Department Jan. 6 Ken Paxton John Cornyn James Talarico Texas Senate race midterm elections