The Pence pushback: Why more Republicans are daring to criticize Trump

Trump remains the party’s most dominant figure and its most likely nominee in 2024. But perhaps for the first time since he left office, some in his party have concluded that criticizing him is not tantamount to swallowing a poison pill.

Trump remains the party’s most dominant figure and its most likely nominee in 2024. But perhaps for the first time since he left office, some in his party have concluded that criticizing him is not tantamount to swallowing a poison pill.

It’s not that the words uttered by Mike Pence were inflammatory. All he said was this: "President Trump is wrong." And that "I had no right to overturn the election."

That simple declaration was a major pushback to Trump’s recent declaration about overturning the election, one that declared his goal in starker terms than he had ever used.