Vice President Mike Pence disputed a report suggesting that he may be among Republicans preparing for run for president in 2020 if Donald Trump doesn't seek a second term, calling it "laughable and absurd."
The New York Times cited interviews with more than 75 Republicans who expressed uncertainty about whether Trump, 71, would run for re-election. The newspaper said Pence's political calendar and fundraising committee has Republicans saying he's "acting more like a second-term vice president hoping to clear the field than a No. 2 sworn in a little over six months ago."
In a statement released by the White House, Pence called the article "disgraceful and offensive," and an attempt by the press to divide the Trump administration.
"Whatever fake news may come our way, my entire team will continue to focus all our efforts to advance the president's agenda and see him re-elected in 2020," Pence said. "Any suggestion otherwise is both laughable and absurd."
White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, who at one time worked as a pollster for Pence, said Trump "plans on being a two-term president." On ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, Conway rejected any suggestion that Pence is running "a shadow campaign" to position himself for the presidency.
"It is absolutely true that the vice president is getting ready for 2020 �� for re-election as vice president," she said.
Conway did acknowledge that Trump's approval rating, which fell to 36 percent in a Gallup Poll released Aug. 4, is down slightly among conservatives and 2016 Trump voters.
"It needs to go up," Conway said. "They are telling him, just enact your program. Don't worry about a Congress that isn't supporting legislation to get big-ticket items done."
On the Democratic side, former vice president and 2000 presidential nominee Al Gore downplayed any suggestion that he might run again.
"I'm a recovering politician," Gore said in an interview Sunday on CNN. "The longer I go without a relapse, the less likely one becomes."
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(Niquette reported from Columbus, Ohio. Ben Brody in Washington contributed to this report.)
