Former Vice President Mike Pence told a crowd at “The Gathering,” an event hosted by right-wing radio host Erick Erickson, that he was “staying out of the presidential campaign,” on Friday. After thoroughly praising Ronald Reagan, Pence told the crowd, “I cannot endorse this growing abandonment of our allies on the world stage that’s taken hold in parts of our party.” “I cannot endorse ignoring our national debt that reached $35 trillion just in the last week,” he added. “I cannot support marginalizing the right to life in our party as we saw in our national platform.” Pence had a brief stint as a candidate for president in 2023, clashing with former President Donald Trump and then dropping out before the year was up. Trump stated in a Truth Social post that he “never asked Mike Pence to put me above the Constitution. Who would say such a thing? A FAKE STORY!” Trump was referencing his attempt at getting Pence to not certify the results of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021.