No, Vice President Mike Pence is not planning a White House takeover, as Julian Assange suggested. The WikiLeaks founder first introduced the rumor on his Twitter page on Tuesday, claiming that Hillary Clinton and intelligence officials had been pushing for Pence to take the reins at the White House.
Two IC officials close to Pence stated privately this month that they are planning on a Pence takeover. Did not state if Pence agrees.
— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) March 14, 2017
Pence rejected these claims as "absurd" and "offensive," noting he has no plans to stage a coup.
"I would find all of that dialogue to be absurd and frankly offensive," Pence told radio host Laura Ingraham. "It is the greatest honor of my life to serve shoulder-to-shoulder with the 45th President of the United States. To see his leadership every day, to see the compassion that he has for the American people every day. I would dismiss that out of hand and tell you that I'm just, I'm so excited about the progress that we've been made strengthening this country, protecting this country, reviving this country's economy and all credit goes to President Donald Trump."
Clinton has not responded.