Trump and his former colleagues are drifting apart. Now they are involved in an election campaign that resembles a proxy war which is also a kind of struggle for the soul of the Republican Party.

Pence campaigns for Karrin Taylor Robson. He boasted of the success of what he called the Trump-Pence administration, but did not directly mention the growing conflict between the two.

According to Pence, the vote for Robson is “a deafening message that will be heard across the United States that the Republican Party is the party of the future.”

This has been interpreted as a veiled critique of Republicans who still cling to the lie that Trump – and thus Pence – is the real winner of the 2020 election.

That’s something Robson’s rival, Curry Lake, is against. He ran an election campaign according to Trump’s textbooks and attacked political opponents and the media. Trump will hold a campaign rally for the former TV presenter on Friday evening.

– Kari will make her amazing family and the entire MAGA movement proud, Trump said in a statement, referring to the slogan Make America Great Again.

Trump said Lake would fight to restore the credibility of elections in the United States, both in the future and in the past.

From Reagan to Trump

Robson is an attorney who has the backing of several Republican figures who are increasingly looking to break up with Trump and the story of the 2020 election. In addition to Pence, his supporters include former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and current Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.

Ducey gained attention for ignoring a phone call from Trump when he was supposed to certify Joe Biden’s election victory in Arizona.

Robson said the 2020 election was unfair and accused liberal judges of changing the rules of the game at the last minute, as well as the media to suppress conservative votes. But he didn’t say Trump lost because of a stolen election.

Pence, for his part, said Lake did not have a long Republican history. He indicated that he supported Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and he posted a meme saying Trump was not his president shortly before he was sworn in in 2017.

– You need a governor who has supported every conservative campaign from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump, Pence said.

Robson worked in the Reagan administration and raised money for the Trump campaign with her husband Ed Robson, who is one of Arizona’s richest men. However, Robson has also donated to Democrats.

– Flash on Pence’s back

The conflict between Trump and Pence is hot in the news right now as a result of hearings about the congressional raid, during which Trump, according to committee members, winked at Pence’s back.

During the hearing on Thursday, audio recordings of Secret Service agents watching Pence during the raid were played. They worry about their lives and send messages to their loved ones if they die.

Soon after, Trump tweeted that Pence did not have the courage to stop certifying the election results, which was interrupted when angry mobs stormed Congress.

Trump and Pence have also campaigned against each other in the past, in Georgia where Pence candidate Brian Kemp easily beat David Perdue, who has Trump’s backing behind him.

The Republican nomination election in Arizona is August 2.