Pence warns – Former Vice President Mike Pence told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on May 31 that a second Trump administration is drifting toward a populist right agenda. He criticized broad-based tariffs, nationalizing policies, and questions about support for allies in Europe, w
When Mike Pence stepped onto NBC’s “Meet the Press” set on May 31. he framed it as a fight over what the Republican Party is supposed to stand for. The former vice president. who served under Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. used his appearance to argue that Trump’s next phase is veering away from the conservative principles that built the GOP’s identity.
Pence said the “second Trump administration” is “increasingly losing its way” and warned that. if it keeps embracing populist policies. it could start “moving in the progressive direction.” He pointed to tariffs. Ukraine and Eastern Europe. and issues tied to life as places where he believes the party is changing course.
“In so many ways I think (Trump) – you know. he represents. in some measure. what the populist right is about. ” Pence told host Kristen Welker. “But the populist right is attempting to take the president’s departure from the conservative agenda. whether it be on tariffs. whether it be with regard to Ukraine and Eastern Europe. whether it be in regard to life. and try to make that the new foundational philosophy of the Republican Party.”.
He delivered the message while promoting his new book, “What Conservatives Believe.”
Pence credited Trump with energizing MAGA voters and maintaining broad loyalty within the party. But he said voters who think the country should be led by the U.S. and who favor limited government. less taxes. and fewer regulations. would reject policies Pence described as drifting far from the conservative agenda.
“I believe that the overwhelming majority of people in the MAGA movement believe that America’s the leader of the free world, believe in limited government, less taxes, less regulations, would reject ideas like nationalization of businesses and price controls and broad-based tariffs,” Pence said.
He also pointed to areas where he said Trump has “held the line,” including securing the border, extending the tax policy imposed during his first administration, and continuing to support Israel.
But Pence argued that the party’s move away from principles he associated with the GOP since Ronald Reagan—American leadership, limited government, free market economics, and “the right to life”—has created a split inside the coalition.
“When you see an administration with broad-based tariffs. nationalizing American businesses. questioning and pulling back from our – from our allies as they endure the brutal assault in Eastern Europe from Russia. I think that – I think Republicans would do well to take some time to reflect on what we believe again. and take that message to the American people. ” Pence said.
He then turned to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., describing him as “pro-abortion.” Pence recalled that, alongside Trump, he oversaw Supreme Court appointments that “effectively reversed Roe v. Wade,” ending federal protections for the right to an abortion.
Kennedy, Pence said, “has done nothing to limit the availability of the abortion pill on a mail order basis that Joe Biden made possible across the country.”
Pence’s critique also spilled into the question of what happens to GOP candidates heading into November. When Welker asked whether Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton—who recently ousted Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas Senate primaries despite being dogged by controversies for years—has the character to represent GOP values. Pence pivoted. He did not project that potential Republican wins would come from candidate quality; instead. he said it would be driven by rejection of the Democratic platform.
“Look, I think in many respects Republicans have lost our way. But Democrats have lost their mind,” Pence said. “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.”
Still, Pence offered an off-ramp for the party—if Republicans returned to what he called “time-honored conservative principles.” He said that running on “freedom,” “limited government,” and “traditional values” could mend the fault lines forming within the coalition.
“I think if Republicans this fall and in 2028 hold up those time-honored conservative principles, those voters will rally to our cause,” Pence said.
In a different flashpoint. Welker asked Pence about a recently announced $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund. ” which the administration said would compensate people who believe they were wronged by the federal government. Pence said he wants the plan dropped, arguing that it would be inappropriate to reward people tied to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol building—an event that included chants calling for Pence’s death.
“I think that the weaponization fund, it’s a bad idea from the start. And I would encourage the administration just to drop it,” Pence said. “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 January 6th. And I think that’s broadly held by most Republicans and most Americans.”.
Pence said the fund was tied to a settlement the Trump family reached with the IRS regarding the release of the president’s tax returns, and he noted it is currently held up in court.
The sequence was hard to miss: Pence credited Trump’s ability to hold the MAGA base. then warned that major policy moves—tariffs. nationalization language. and a posture toward allies—are colliding with the conservative agenda he believes Republicans have long relied on. The same day he criticized the “anti-weaponization fund. ” he also argued that voters respond most when the party runs on “traditional values. ” not when it blurs the boundaries of what the GOP says it is.
Pence’s appearance left a clear question hanging for Republican voters: whether the party can keep its mass following while pulling policies back toward Reagan-era instincts—without turning every dispute, from abortion politics to responses to Jan. 6, into a deeper internal fracture.
Mike Pence Meet the Press Donald Trump populism conservative principles tariffs nationalization Ukraine Eastern Europe abortion Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Supreme Court Jan. 6 anti-weaponization fund IRS settlement Ken Paxton John Cornyn Texas Senate primaries