CNN’s Phil Mattingly confronted former Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday about his chances of beating his former running mate, former President Donald Trump, for the 2024 nomination.

A recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS found Trump remains the top choice in the Republican field for the 2024 nomination, ahead of all of his rivals by at least 30 percentage points. Among those polled, 43% said they are definitely backing Trump while 20% are firmly for another candidate. Thirty-seven percent said they do not have a first choice or could change their minds. Most of the individuals polled do not think the charges against the former president are relevant to whether he can serve as president.

“You look at our most recent polling in terms of the issues itself. Your consistency on conservatism I think is unquestioned whether you agree or disagree where you are ideologically, but in terms of the best candidate to handle the economy, Trump is at 69%, immigration 65%, Ukraine 63%, government overreach 59%. Isn’t this war over and your side lost?” Mattingly asked, prompting Pence to laugh. (RELATED: More Voters Say Trump, Rather Than Biden, Has A ‘Vision For The Future’: POLL)

“I know there’s many in the media, Phil, that would like to declare this over. Labor day is really when campaigns begin. Primary campaigns. You know, we were in Salem, New Hampshire, a big crowd turned out. A number of us candidates were there. I have been stopping into places across Iowa and New Hampshire where I think Republican primary voters, caucus-goers in Iowa are just now really beginning to focus their attention. What’s driving all of this is, of course, what you saw this morning here in CNN’s latest poll. Joe Biden has weakened this country at home and abroad. The American people are done with the failed policies of President Joe Biden and now I think Republican primary voters and, frankly, many independents and many Democrats around the country are looking for that leader and looking for that agenda that will really restore our economy and ensure our national security and generations to come.”

Pence then defended comparing Trump in 2016 to former President Ronald Reagan, saying when Trump first ran for office he was running on conservative principles and that by choosing Pence to be his running mate Trump showed his “sincerity of his purpose.”