Former Vice President Mike Pence is breaking with his former boss, criticizing the Trump administration’s tariffs strategy and calling for free trade to lower the cost of goods.
Pence responded to comments from Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent defending the tariff policy despite the possibility of it causing economic disruptions.
“Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American Dream,” Bessent said in a speech from New York on Thursday.
Pence responded on Friday in a post on X, saying tariffs work when used as “a means to bring nations like China to the table.” But the former vice president added that free trade “lowers the costs of goods and improves the quality of life for every American.”
The comments come as President Donald Trump has both levied and walked back tariffs on Canada and Mexico in the last week, with the White House saying they plan to move forward on reciprocal tariffs on imports beginning in April.
This is not the first time that Pence has broken with Trump, after he fell out of favor with the president for not helping him overturn the results of the 2020 election.
He came out against the nomination of Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with both him and his organization, Advancing American Freedom, criticizing Kennedy’s flip-flopping on abortion.
Pence has also sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting the war in Ukraine, and called for Trump — who touts his friendly relationship with the Russian strongman — to do the same.
But Pence still highlights where he agrees with the president. He’s supported many of Trump’s policies, including the “Trump-Pence” tax cuts.
