Former vice president Mike Pence is stepping back into the political arena to take shots at Donald Trump ahead of his second inauguration.

Pence visited Taiwan on Friday to urge his former boss to support the island nation, which China has threatened to invade.

“I call on the new administration in Washington, D.C., and freedom loving nations around the world to urgently renew our commitment for providing Taiwan with the support it needs to defend itself and its freedom,” Pence said.

Pence steps back in

A rift opened between Trump and Pence after the January 6th riot, with Pence accusing Trump of pressuring him to betray his oath to the Constitution. Pence did not endorse Trump's triumphant re-election campaign last year.

Pence ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2024, presenting himself as a voice of lost Republican values. He has continued to criticize the GOP's direction under Trump, warning of a "new and troubling strain of isolationism" in an op-ed last year.

Trump has criticized America's support for Ukraine and has called for a negotiated settlement to the war in that country. Similarly, Trump has questioned the value of defending Taiwan, which China has threatened to invade.

During a speech in Taipei this week, Pence claimed that failing to protect Taiwan would destabilize Asia and global security.

“The fall of Taiwan would likely spark a new nuclear arms race,” he said. “Smaller Asian nations concerned about Chinese aggression would no longer be confident of American deterrence. American security commitments would be viewed as empty promises, destabilizing not only this region but the wider world.”

Taking shots at Trump

In his Taiwan speech, Pence took credit for helping to awaken Washington D.C. to the China threat during Trump's first term. The rise of China has become a bi-partisan concern since Trump put the issue on the political radar during his first White House campaign in 2016.

"Now there is a broad and bipartisan agreement in our nation’s capital that China today represents the greatest strategic and economic threat facing our nation and our allies in the 21st century,” Pence said.

Pence has also opposed Trump's nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat, to lead the Health and Human Services Department over Kennedy's liberal views on abortion.

Trump and Pence shook hands at Jimmy Carter's state funeral this month, despite the tensions between them.

In a post Wednesday, Trump said he does not want anyone with ties to Mike Pence - and others suffering from "Trump derangement syndrome" - working in the second Trump administration.