(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former Vice President Mike Pence has made what critics call a desperate appeal to his donors ahead of the Republican Party’s primary debate.
Despite his campaign’s struggles to fundraise, Pence voiced his confidence that he will meet the GOP’s threshold to participate in the GOP debate, which is to be hosted by Fox News and Fox Business on Aug. 23.
“We make the polling requirement very easily,” Pence claimed during an interview on CNN’s State of The Union. “I’m very humbled by the support around the country, which is one of the criteria. But yes, having 40,000 individual donors, we’re literally working around the clock. Got about a month to go, I’m confident we will be there.”
Pence then promoted his campaign to ask for donations, “People every day are going to mikepence2024.com and donating even a dollar.”
Notably, former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have both received invitations to the debate, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, and N.D. Gov. Dough Burgum. However, Trump has expressed hesitancy in participating due to his substantial lead in the polls.
In a separate interview with a New Hampshire reporter, Pence emphasized his reliance on donations to meet the requirements. He remarked, “We’re not offering kickbacks. We’re not offering gift cards. We’re not even offering soccer tickets. We’re just asking people for their support the old-fashioned way.”
Struggling to qualify for debates by not having enough individual donors, Pence says it’s because he isn’t giving away “gift cards and soccer tickets” for donations. pic.twitter.com/PVt95FnVoL
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 22, 2023
As reported by the Hill, Pence’s comments seem to be aimed at his opponents, particularly Ramaswamy, who had taken to the campaign trail offering a 10% commission to his donors. Similarly, Burgum and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez have provided $20 gift cards and soccer tickets in exchange for donations.
“We will make it. I will see you at that debate stage,” Pence concluded.
In response to Pence’s donation appeal, political commentator Sebastian Gorka derisively questioned, “Is this the most pathetic thing Mike Pence has ever done?”
