Mike Pence’s plan to reclaim the GOP throne is in shambles as he bickers with the Heritage Foundation over who gets to be king of the swamp.
The former VP, who once dreamed of following two Trump terms with his own, is now reduced to leading a tiny think tank and feuding with his former allies. Meanwhile, the Heritage Foundation has become the nerve center of MAGA, pumping out Project 2025 blueprints for Trump’s second term.
Pence’s crew has been raiding Heritage for donors and staffers, but the old guard isn’t going down without a fight. They booted out John Malcolm, a Reagan-loving constitutional scholar, for daring to question Trump’s embrace of antisemites.
Heritage brass say Malcolm was just mad they cut his funding and caught him poaching donors. They’re also still salty about him calling Biden’s Supreme Court pick “good” and worrying about pardoning Jan. 6 rioters.
This isn’t just an academic spat – it’s the first skirmish in the coming GOP civil war over what conservatism means after Trump. Will it be Pence’s stale brand of Bush-era sanctimony? Or Heritage’s turbo-charged MAGA agenda?
For now, Pence is stuck playing small ball – hosting basement briefings with catered Chick-fil-A sandwiches for Hill staffers. Trump, meanwhile, is busy taking the hammer to Iran while Pence’s pals in the Freedom Caucus stay conspicuously silent.
Heritage is raking in record donations and producing research that’s actually influencing policy. But Pence’s gang insists they’ll be the ones defining the post-Trump GOP. Right… and I’ve got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
