Former US Vice President Mike Pence ended his cash-strapped presidential campaign on Saturday, after struggling for months to convince Republican voters he was the best alternative to the man he once served with unswerving loyalty, Donald Trump.
Pence’s surprise announcement at the Republican Jewish Coalition donor conference in Las Vegas made him the first big-name candidate to drop out. Trump is the runaway frontrunner in the race.
“Traveling over the country over the past six months, I came here to say it’s become clear to me: This is not my time. So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today,” Pence told the audience to gasps and, later, prolonged claps and cheers of support.
Pence stopped short of endorsing anyone in his speech but seemed to swipe at his former boss.
“I urge all my fellow Republicans here, give our country a Republican standard bearer that will, as Lincoln said, appeal to the better angels of our nature,” Pence said, adding it should also be someone who leads the country with “civility.”
At a rally later on Saturday, Trump said Pence should endorse him because he had a “great, successful presidency… I chose him, made him vice president.” But, Trump added, “people in politics can be very disloyal.”
