PHOENIX (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and his estranged vice president, Mike Pence, will hold rival campaign events in Arizona on Friday, turning the governor's race into a broader referendum on the Republican Party's future.
In the Aug. 2 primary, Trump is backing Kari Lake, a former television anchor who has embraced his lies about the 2020 election along with his combative approach to his political enemies and the media. Trump was scheduled to hold an evening rally in Prescott Valley on behalf of Lake and other candidates he has endorsed.
Earlier in the day, Pence planned to appear at two events with Karrin Taylor Robson, a lawyer and housing developer who is locking up support from mainstream GOP figures growing increasingly comfortable with breaking from Trump. Her supporters also include former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and term-limited Gov. Doug Ducey, who famously silenced a call from Trump while certifying Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 presidential victory in Arizona.
Trump and Pence have occasionally taken different sides in primaries this year, but this is the first time that they will have appeared in the same state on the same day to rally for their preferred candidates. The split-screen moment marks a more confrontational phase in their relationship as they both consider running for president in 2024.
It also comes just a day after the House Jan. 6 committee revealed new details about the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that fractured the relationship between the two men. The committee recounted how Trump refused to call off the mob attacking the Capitol as Pence, just feet away from rioters, was whisked to safety.
The committee played audio from an unidentified White House security official who said Pence’s Secret Service agents...
