A successful strongman is a tough act to follow. Just ask Maduro.
Which, of course, leads us to Mike Pence. Pence reminds me of Malvolio; he’s obsequious to his boss and self-righteous with everyone else. You can find his picture next to “smarmy” in the dictionary. His speeches and ideas don’t work at any level higher than a Rotary Club. In his defense, however, you can say that he isn’t completely insane or corrupt, and that he would be unlikely to destroy the republic. It’s a pathetically low bar, but that’s where we are today.
Could Pence win the nomination in 2024? I doubt it, because Trump has made owning the libs the most important task of a GOP president, and Pence doesn’t really have that in his skill set. He’s broadly acceptable to the various elements of the party, but he doesn’t excite any of them. That approach has worked with Biden and the Democrats, but the GOP base is a different animal entirely, and I think they will prefer someone like Cotton.