On Tuesday morning, Mike Pence stood before a crowd of young Republicans in Washington DC, outlining his vision for the future of the party and calling on its supporters to avoid “the temptation to look back”.
Six hours later and a mile down the road, the former vice-president’s erstwhile boss, Donald Trump, made his own pitch for the party’s future at a conference for the America First Policy Institute, repeating his disproved claims of fraud in the 2020 election and teasing the possibility of another presidential run.
“If I renounced my beliefs, if I agreed to stay silent?.?.?.?the persecution of Donald Trump would stop immediately,” he told the crowd. “But that’s not what I will do?.?.?.?I have to save our country.”