MIke Pence
MIke PenceReuters

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday denied a report in the New York Times claiming that he is positioning himself to run for president in 2020 if Donald Trump does not seek a second term.

"Today's article in the New York Times is disgraceful and offensive to me, my family, and our entire team. The allegations in this article are categorically false and represent just the latest attempt by the media to divide this Administration," Pence said in a statement.

“The American people know that I could not be more honored to be working side by side with a president who is making America great again. Whatever fake news may come our way, my entire team will continue to focus all our efforts to advance the president’s agenda and see him re-elected in 2020. Any suggestion otherwise is both laughable and absurd,” he added.

The New York Times article, which was titled "Republican shadow campaign for 2020 takes shape as Trump doubts grow," was written by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. The article said Pence has worked to build an independent power base and mentioned Senators Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), as well as Ohio Governor John Kasich, as adopting similar tactics in light of the current administration's struggles.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway had earlier said on ABC that there was "zero concern" about Pence setting up a shadow campaign, adding, "That is complete fiction.”

Nevertheless, the New York Times stood by its report.

“We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting and will let the story speak for itself,” said Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for the newspaper.