There is nothing he can say that will erase the memory of what he failed to do

 Pence hits Trump: No room in GOP for ‘apologists for Putin’

By JILL COLVIN

FILE - Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, Nov. 30, 2021. Pence will urge Republicans to move on from the 2020 election. And he will say "there is no room in this party for apologists for Putin" as he escalates his break with former President Donald Trump (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence urged Republicans to move on from the 2020 election and declared that “there is no room in this party for apologists for Putin” as he further cemented his break from former President Donald Trump.

Pence, in a speech Friday evening to the party’s top donors in New Orleans, took on those in his party who have failed to forcefully condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

“Where would Russian tanks be today if NATO had not expanded the borders of freedom? There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin,” Pence said, according to excerpts from the speech, which was closed to reporters. “There is only room for champions of freedom.”

Pence did not directly reference the former president. But Trump has repeatedly used language that has been criticized as deferential to Putin, including calling the Russian leader “smart” while insisting the attack never would have happened on his watch.

Pence also continued to push back on Trump’s lies about the 2020 election as he lays the groundwork for a possible 2024 presidential run. Trump, who has been teasing his own comeback bid that could potentially put the two in direct competition, has continued to falsely insist that Pence had the power to overturn the 2020 election, which he did not.