Former Vice President Mike Pence visits Minneapolis, says he’ll challenge special counsel’s subpoena

Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke in Minneapolis on Wednesday amid speculation of a possible run for president in 2024.

He discussed what he calls “defending parental rights” during an event at 11 a.m. He was also scheduled to visit Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Wednesday afternoon.

RELATED: Pence group to run ads in Iowa against school trans policies

His stop came the same day that former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, also a Republican, officially launched her 2024 presidential campaign.

After his speech, Pence confirmed that he plans to fight the subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing probes into former President Donald Trump.

The former vice president called the subpoena “unconstitutional and unprecedented,” saying the Constitution offers prevents the executive branch from summoning legislative branch officials into court into any other place.

Former VP Mike Pence at stop today in Minneapolis "I'm going to fight the Biden's DOJ–on the subpoena that was sent to me last week, it's unconstitutional and it's unprecedented, and the DOJ knows it." @kstp

— Eric Chaloux (@EricChalouxKSTP) February 15, 2023

“I stood on the Constitution on Jan. 6, I’m gonna stand on the Constitution in the controversy,” Pence said.

“Back on Jan. 6, President Trump was wrong. As I’ve said before, his words were wreckless and they endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol,” Pence added. “I had no right to overturn the election.” However, despite that, he reiterated that he plans to fight the subpoena because it’s wrong to establish a precedent for a legislative official to be called into court by the executive branch.

“My fight is on the separation of powers,” Pence said.

On his potential presidential run, Pence didn’t officially announce a plan on Wednesday but said he will continue touring the country to hear from the American people.

“For me it always comes down to a sense of calling,” Pence said on making the decision to run for office. “I think the American people want to see us get back to the timeless principles that have always united the people of this country, beginning with the Constitution of the United States.”

He also briefly touched on the balloons recently shot down by U.S. warplanes. While Pence said he appreciated the swift action on the latter three, he said President Joe Biden should’ve ordered the first balloon shot down much earlier than he did.