Ex-Pence aide confesses he let her down with Jan. 6 inaction

Former Vice President Mike Pence announced he was running for president on Wednesday morning, but he might not be able to count on some previous supporters.

Speaking to MSNBC, former Homeland Security aide to Pence, Olivia Troye, explained that she liked many things about him, such as being pro-military and a man of faith.

"What's interesting is I saw Pence take on [Donald] Trump very privately, behind closed doors, on issues that mattered to him," she recalled. "I witnessed that, and I was grateful for it at times, personally, on matters of Iran and national security especially.

"It will be interesting to see if he's willing to take on Trump publicly, which he has failed to do. Now is the time to do that. Chris Christie is a bull in the china shop calling Trump out. If Pence wants to gain traction, he's going to have to explain a lot of these policies that he was a part of. He's going to have to differentiate himself on how he's different than Trump. And that's going to be hard for him. He's not traditionally a man that engages in confrontation."

MSNBC host Ana Cabrara said that she thinks people will wonder if he has a spine because they never experienced it when he was working at the White House. Troye confessed that it's something that bothers her too.

"It's something that frustrated me. I wanted him to take a stand after Jan. 6th and to start speaking the truth about what Trump is and show dangerous he is," Troye said.

"It's interesting, he continued to toe the line. I think it's because of where the base of the party is. Now, Pence is a traditional conservative. He's a man of faith. I saw his faith guide a lot of his decisions. He's pro-military, he's pro-law enforcement, and he has military members in his family. The question is, is the party going to welcome that message? I'm not sure that it is. It may work in Iowa, but it needs to broaden from his evangelical following."

She explained that Pence has a strong base of evangelical support and that he might be able to peel some away from Donald Trump. But when it comes to Donald Trump's hard-nosed base, she said it would be impossible to convince people who have said they want to assassinate you to turn around and vote for you.

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Ex-Pence aide confesses she was disappointed at his inaction after Jan. 6 youtu.be