Pence: Trump May Still Show Up for Debate

Former President Donald Trump might still walk out on the GOP debate stage in Milwaukee this week, despite all indications that he won't be there, Mike Pence, his former vice president, said Sunday.

"I served alongside the president for a long time, and one thing I realized about him is it's not over till it's over," Pence said on ABC News' "This Week." "I'm actually still hoping he shows up, I mean, you know, to get on that plane, Trump Force One, and head out on that stage."

Late last week, Trump, who remains at the top of the polls as the front-runner for his party's presidential nomination, reiterated that as he is "leading the runner-up, whoever that may now be, by more than 50 Points … why would I debate?"

Pence, though, told ABC's Jonathan Karl that he thinks every candidate who has qualified for the debate should be there and "be willing to square off, answer the tough questions, and also draw a bright line contrast."

He added that his differences with Trump go "far beyond" the happenings on Jan. 6, 2021, and the violence at the Capitol.

Pence also Sunday accused Trump and other presidential candidates of "walking away from America's leadership in the world" and "from a commitment of fiscal responsibility and reform."

He added that he promises to "champion the cause of life" from the Oval Office if elected and told Karl that Trump and the other candidates are "shying away" from conservative causes.

Meanwhile, he said he feels like he's been "preparing for this first Republican presidential debate my whole life."

"One of my goals in that debate is for the American people, Republican primary voters, to get to know me in a little bit broader context and demonstrate the kind of leadership that we bring to this, which I think is what the moment calls for," he told Karl. "I think it's no time for on-the-job training.

"I want to project when I'm on that stage, to the American people, all of what came with the experience of serving as vice president, as a governor, and as a member of Congress, and my determination to bring that experience and that conservative record to bear on the challenges facing this country."

In addition to Pence, at least eight other GOP candidates appear to have qualified for the Republican National Committee's first debate for the 2024 primary season, including Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

In addition, businessman Perry Johnson and Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, say they have met the committee's qualifications. The RNC has not yet confirmed who will be in the debate, as they have until 48 hours before the debate to qualify.

Meanwhile, Trump has continued to claim that he declassified all documents he took to his Mar-a-Lago estate, but ABC News reported Sunday that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told special counsel Jack Smith's investigators that he can't recall Trump ordering or discussing declassifying materials before leaving the White House.

When asked about the report, Pence said he was "never made aware" of any such efforts to declassify documents.

"First off, the handling of classified materials is enormously serious in the life of the nation, but I can't really comment on your reporting," said Pence. "But in my case, I was never made aware of any broad-based effort to declassify documents.

"There is a process that the White House goes through to declassify materials. I'm aware of that occurring on several occasions over the course of our four years, but I don't have any knowledge of any broad-based directive from the president. But that doesn't mean it didn't occur. ... It's not something that I ever heard."

He also suggested that the Meadows report came from "leaks" from the Justice Department and said Trump is "entitled to a presumption of innocence."

"He's entitled to his day in court, and I'm just not going to comment on the latest leak or the latest reporting coming out of that process," Pence said.