Pompeo, Pence smack Trump during the big 2024 GOP Cattle Call event

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence alluded to Donald Trump’s shortcomings during a GOP cattle call event gathering potential candidates for the 2024 presidential election on Friday in Las Vegas.

While Pence and Pompeo didn’t specifically mention the former president by name at the annual Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), they made clear references to Trump.

In an apparent reference to the ex-president, Pompeo said during a speech at the event, which lasted over the weekend, that a “personality” and “celebrity” is not what the GOP needs Las Vegas Review Journal reported.

He explained during his speechwho should “regain and regain the confidence of Americans” that his party needs someone competent enough to protect values ​​and “take the conservative case.”

“The American people didn’t want to look back, they wanted to look ahead. They care about what happens tomorrow, not what happened yesterday,” Pompeo said, according to a video of his speech posted to Twitter by Howard Mortman, C-SPAN communications director.

Speakers at the event included Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senator Rick Scott, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Fox News reported.

Trump is also expected to make remarks and speak live via satellite on Saturday rather than attend in person. Trump formally announced on Tuesday that he will run for president again in 2024.

“This weekend’s annual Republican-Jewish Coalition Leadership Meeting, affectionately dubbed ‘Kosher Cattle Call,’ will be the biggest and best political event of the year as we once again welcome key GOP leaders to Las Vegas,” said the RJC Nationals political director Sam Markstein told Fox News.

Meanwhile, Pence also made some obvious references to Trump on Friday, according to quotes from his speech tweeted by Ron Kampeas, the Washington, DC bureau chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA).

“Our party could be the last line of defense for the United States Constitution,” Pence said. “The American people need to know that our party will uphold our oath to the Constitution, even when political expediency causes us to do otherwise.”

pence too told the audience: “We must, as Proverbs says, we must be the leaders who keep our oath, even if it hurts … We as Republicans and our elected leaders must do more than criticize and complain.”

Meanwhile, Hogan said during his speech, “A party… that couldn’t even beat Joe Biden is in dire need of a course correction… Trump said we were going to win so much we got tired of winning.” Well, I’m sick of our party losing.”

The Maryland governor made similar remarks last weekend when he blamed Trump for the GOP’s poor performance at this year’s midterms, which led to Democrats taking the Senate majority.

“The way I would interpret it… this should have been a giant red wave. It should have been one of the biggest red waves we’ve ever had because President Biden’s approval rating was so low, one of the lowest in history,” Hogan said. “Over 70 percent of people thought the country was going in the wrong direction. And yet we haven’t performed.”

news week contacted Trump’s media office for comment.