Former Vice President Mike Pence was all but forgotten last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida — at least among right wing die-hards, many of whom said they were happy to see him in the rear-view mirror.
Pence, who spent four years as veep under President Trump, earned the ire of the assembled activists gathered in Orlando for his refusal to overturn Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election.
“I’m glad he’s not here. I won’t miss him,” said GOP firebrand and MyPillow boss Mike Lindell — who was frequently mobbed by fans.
Among younger activists the feeling was mutual.
“We are the party of Trump, and I’ll say it, I’m proud of that,” said Presley Osendorf, a cowboy hat wearing college student at Boise State University. Osendorf, 20, added that he felt “Pence could have done more to send back the electors on January 6 and he did not. A lot of people have soured on him because of that.”
“We are the party of Trump,” said college student Presley Osendorf. Stephen YangNigel Farage, a former member of parliament and Brexit boss who was frequently stopped by fans as he mingled in the halls, laughed when asked what he thought of Pence.
“I think, truth be told, he’s not going to get many votes from this crowd” he told The Post.
Though serving as one of Trump’s most unstintingly loyal deputies during his four years in office, Pence fell out of favor with the president — and his rabid fans after the 2020 presidential election. In his capacity as president of the Senate, Pence defied Trump’s demand to block certification of the election results — ensuring a permanent split between the two.
The conference featured speaker Nigel Farage, a former member of British parliament. AFP via Getty ImagesSince leaving office Pence has dismissed the idea that he could have overturned the results as “un-American.”
“I heard this week that President Trump said I had the right to overturn the election. President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election,” Pence told a gathering of the Federalist Society earlier this month.
Though he was a regular at CPAC during his tenure in office, Pence has declined invitations to speak for two years in a row.
Patricia and Mark McCloskey were present at the conference. Stephen Yang“I wish he were. I would like to talk to him,” said Mark McCloskey, a Missouri lawyer who became a minor cult hero in conservative circles after photos of him and his wife Patricia brandishing weapons at Black Lives Matter protesters went viral on social media.
“I know that his image amongst real conservatives has been diminished but still he is a great guy and a good Christian,” McCloskey, who is now running for Senate in Missouri, added.
Wife Patricia McCloskey channeled the more prevailing view of the conference.
“I am ready to move past Mike Pence,” she said.






