Mike Pence, the US Vice President, has angrily dismissed reports he is preparing a presidential run for 2020 as “absurd” and “offensive” insisting that he is focused on ensuring Donald Trump’s re-election.

A day earlier The New York Times reported that leading Republicans have begun making visits to Iowa, one of the states crucial to securing the party’s presidential nomination, and that Mr Pence has established his own fundraising committee.

However, he dismissed the suggestion that he was preparing a run as “fake news”.