Mike Pence sure looks like a man who is about to jump into the Republican primary for president. During his speech at the annual Gridiron Dinner, he took jabs at Donald Trump and Pete Buttigieg. Pence made a point of saying Trump’s “reckless” words on January 6 “endangered my family.”

Pence has said that of Trump before but it has been in interviews, not in public appearances that are sure to get publicity like the Gridiron Dinner. The Gridiron Dinner is a white-tie affair put on by the Gridiron Club, the oldest and among the most prestigious journalistic organizations in Washington, D.C., assuming you consider any such organization prestigious these days. I think those days are gone for the general public. Nonetheless, the tradition of the annual dinner continues. It’s a night of speeches and skits.

Mike Pence is known as a soft-spoken, mild-mannered politician. It appears he is ratcheting up his rhetoric now to make a place for himself in the Republican primary. I’m still not 100% convinced that Pence will go ahead and jump in but he does sound like he’s leaning that way now. It would provide an interesting situation with the former vice president of a former president running against each other in a presidential primary race. Pence is a person who has spent most of his career in politics and has the experience to make the run, but it’s not clear how long he would last up against the two presumed frontrunners, Trump and Ron DeSantis.

“President Trump was wrong,” Pence said during remarks at the annual white-tie Gridiron Dinner attended by politicians and journalists. “I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”

Pence was referencing the pressure Trump put on him to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election to deny Biden’s victory during the certification of the results. Pence, as vice president, had a ceremonial role in that process and refused to overstep his constitutional authority. Some of those who participated in the riot on Capitol Hill could hear “Hang Mike Pence” being shouted. Pence’s wife and daughter were with him that day and the three of them were evacuated during the chaos of the protest that turned violent.

There were about 600 journalists, administration officials, and lawmakers in attendance. Pence took the opportunity to blast Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson for his presentation of the J6 video footage.

Pence didn’t call out Carlson by name, but chided his characterization of January 6th rioters as “sightseers.”

“January 6 was a tragic day for him. I was there at the Capitol, and let me assure you it was not, as some would have us believe, a matter of tourists peacefully enjoying our Capitol.”

He added, “Tourists don’t injure 140 police officers by sightseeing. Tourists don’t break down doors to get to the Speaker of the House. Or voice threats against public officials. The American people have a right to know what took place at the Capitol on January 6. I expect members of Fourth Estate to continue to do their job. Make no mistake about it — what happened that day was a disgrace and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way.”

Pence is concerned that Carlson is downplaying the severity of the actions that day and wants to avoid “that narrative taking hold.” In doing so, though, shouldn’t Pence have the cojones to name names and directly address Carlson? He went on to praise journalists who remained and covered the events of that day. Pence received a standing ovation when he concluded his remarks. That must have been an odd moment. I’m old enough to remember four years of the Trump administration and press coverage that didn’t have any decency towards either Trump or Pence.

Politicians poke fun at each other during Gridiron Dinner speeches. Pence made a few jokes during his time in front of the audience at Trump’s expense.

He joked that Trump’s ego was so fragile, he wanted his vice president to sing “Wind Beneath My Wings” — one of the lines is “did you ever know that you’re my hero?” — during their weekly lunches.

He took another shot at Trump over classified documents.

“I read that some of those classified documents they found at Mar-a-Lago were actually stuck in the president’s Bible,” Pence said. “Which proves he had absolutely no idea they were there.”

Pence is being criticized by LGBTQ activists for a joke he made about Pete Buttigieg.

Pence mentioned that, despite travel problems that were plaguing Americans, Buttigieg took “maternity leave” after he and his husband adopted newborn twins.

“Pete is the only person in human history to have a child and everyone else gets post-partum depression,” Pence said.

It’s funny because it’s true. No one is allowed to say the quiet part out loud about how inept Mayor Pete is in his job performance. It has nothing to do with his sexuality and everything to do with basic competence. Would Pence’s remark be more politically correct if he had called it “paternity leave” instead? Probably not. No jokes are acceptable about some people.

Pence should make his intentions known soon. Is he just trying to sell books or is he seriously running for the Republican nomination? Stay tuned.