Ex-Vice President Mike Pence appeared to launch his bid for the 2024 US Presidential Election but insiders warn that a filing to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was a “prank”.
A statement of candidacy attributed to “Mr Mike Richard Pence” was uploaded onto the FEC’s website on Boxing Day.
It revealed that the candidate, from Anderson in Pence’s home state Indiana, was entering the 2024 race.
However, the 63-year-old’s actual legal name was not reflected in the document, as the ex-Indiana Governor was born as “Michael Richard Pence”.
Insiders have expressed some concern and provided clarity about the filing to the FEC.
Pence’s spokesman Devin O’Malley said on Twitter: “Former Vice President Mike Pence did not file to run for President today.”
In a later exchange, he added: “I think someone pranked you.”
A second source from his team told NBC News “this is not real”.
A Republican strategist also told Express.co.uk: “I hope it’s not some weird AI deal.
“If that’s the case, this will be horrible. They’ll do fake announcements.”
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