WASHINGTON The running mate Donald Trump brought on board to win over skeptical evangelical Christians eight years ago on Monday lashed out at the former presidents new statement on abortion.

President Trumps retreat on the right to life is a slap in the face to the millions of pro-life Americans who voted for him in 2016 and 2020, former Vice President Mike Pence wrote in a social media post , hours after Trump released a video saying that the matter was now in the hands of state governments where it belonged, and that, besides, Republicans need to adopt a message that lets them win elections.

Pence, who was nearly attacked by a mob of Trumps followers on Jan. 6, 2021, angry at him for not helping Trumps coup attempt, has already stated that he will not endorse Trump in Novembers election because he cannot support someone who put himself above the Constitution.

Mondays comment was specifically about Trumps new statement after having claimed since 2015 that he was pro-life.

The American people elect presidents, senators and congressmen, and a majority of Americans long to see minimum national protections for the unborn in federal law, Pence wrote. But today, too many Republican politicians are all too ready to wash their hands of the battle for life. Republicans win on life when we speak the truth boldly and stand on the principle that we all know to be true human life begins at conception and should be defended from womb to tomb.

Trumps campaign did not respond to a HuffPost query.