'Laughable and absurd': Mike Pence dismisses NYT story about running in 2020 presidential election

Donald Trump has made it clear that he demands utmost loyalty from his team. So, one can imagine the state of affairs at the White House when the New York Times published a story about Mike Pence considering a run in the 2020 presidential election.

The 5 August report suggests that the US vice president has been planning a shadow campaign and according to multiple advisers of his, Pence has allegedly informed donors that he would run if his boss decides to sit out the next election.

On 6 August, Pence released a statement dismissing the NYT article as "disgraceful and offensive" and denied that he had any intention of running for president.

"The allegations in this article are categorically false and represent just the latest attempt by the media to divide this administration," he wrote in the Twitter post.

"The American people know that I could not be more honoured to be working side by side with a president who is making America great again.

"Whatever fake news may come our way, my entire team will continue to focus all our efforts to advance the president's agenda and see him re-elected in 2020. Any suggestion otherwise is both laughable and absurd," he concluded.

The NYT responded to the VP's statement, defending their reporting and said they were "confident of their accuracy".

However, Counsellor to the president, Kellyanne Conway went on record to confirm that the story was false and that there was "zero concern" about Pence running for president. "The president says privately and publicly often, that he'll be there for seven and a half more years. So he plans on being a two-term president," Conway said during an appearance on ABC's This Week. "It is absolutely true that the vice president is getting ready for 2020, for re-election as vice president.

"Vice President Pence is a very loyal, very dutiful, but also incredibly effective vice president, and active vice president, with this president."