--- title: Mike Pence Denies He Is Mulling a 2020 Presidential Run description: Mike Pence pushed back against a report that he's quietly laying the groundwork for a 2020 runcalling the allegations "categorically false." canonical: https://time.com/4889069/vice-president-mike-pence-2020-run-denial/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-06T16:06:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:52:46.727Z article:section: Politics og:title: Vice President Mike Pence Denies That He's Mulling a 2020 Presidential Run og:description: He claims he has no intention to split from Trump og:url: https://time.com/4889069/vice-president-mike-pence-2020-run-denial/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62b353cd8e7883dc/6988bdb60b72e3033e6ece6d/mike-pence-donald-trump-rnc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2454 og:image:height: 1380 og:image:alt: Mike Pence, Governor of Indiana and Vice Presidential Candidate, with Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention: Day Three og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Vice President Mike Pence Denies That He's Mulling a 2020 Presidential Run twitter:description: He claims he has no intention to split from Trump twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62b353cd8e7883dc/6988bdb60b72e3033e6ece6d/mike-pence-donald-trump-rnc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Laughable and Absurd.' Vice President Mike Pence Denies That He's Mulling a 2020 Presidential Run > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Aug 6, 2017 4:06 PM UTC  Then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump stands with Mike Pence at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump stands with Mike Pence at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Aug 6, 2017 4:06 PM UTC [Vice President Mike Pence](http://time.com/4888728/mike-pence-obamacare-repeal/) pushed back against a report quietly laying the groundwork for a [presidential run](http://time.com/4850654/donald-trump-jr-jared-kushner-russian-lawyer-meeting/) in 2020, calling the allegations “categorically false.” He released a statement Sunday following a [New York _Times_ report](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/05/us/politics/2020-campaign-president-trump-cotton-sasse-pence.html) that he was considering his own presidential bid in the 2020 race. “The American people know that I could not be more honored to be working side by side with a president who is making America great again,” Pence said in a statement released Sunday morning. “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 elected in 2020\. Any suggestion otherwise is both laughable and absurd.” > [](https://twitter.com/VP/status/894208639082344449) Earlier this weekend, the _Times_ reported on possible quiet attempts by Republicans to [run for president in 2020,](http://time.com/4878713/john-delaney-presidential-announcement/) regardless of whether or not Trump tries to seek a second term. Titled “Republican Shadow Campaign for 2020 Takes Shape as Trump Doubts Grow,” and containing interviews with over 75 Republicans at every level of party leadership, the article notes that “Mike Pence’s schedule is so full of political events that Republicans joke that he is 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.” White House Senior Adviser Kellyanne Conway also rebuked the claims about Pence’s political aspirations Sunday, calling it “complete fiction” — and adding that Trump has every intention of serving two presidential terms. “It is absolutely true that the vice president is getting ready for 2020 — for reelection as vice president,” Conway [said on ABC News’ _This Week With George Stephanopoulos._](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-17-kellyanne-conway-thom-tillis-chris/story?id=49052450) This is the second time in a week the Trump administration has unequivocally denied reports in the New York _Times._ The paper [reported on Aug. 1](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/us/politics/trump-affirmative-action-universities.html) that the Department of Justice would soon begin investigating affirmative action policies to discern if they discriminated against white students, citing a document the _Times_ obtained asking for lawyers who are interested in working on this topic. The DOJ issued a statement one day later denying the report, and explaining that the listing was for a holdover 2015 complaint filed by a coalition of Asian American associations_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4889069/vice-president-mike-pence-2020-run-denial/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4889069/vice-president-mike-pence-2020-run-denial/"},"headline":"'Laughable and Absurd.' 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