Mike Pence has revealed what his first words were to Donald Trump when they reunited this week after previously stating that he and the president-elect had not spoken for four years.
Trump, 78, and his former vice president, 65, made headlines when they both attended the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan. 9, marking the first time they had seen each other since 2021. When Trump and his wife Melania arrived, Pence stood up from the row behind and was photographed extending his hand to Trump for a handshake. The pair exchanged a few words during the brief interaction.
In an interview with Christianity Today, Pence shared that he congratulated Trump on his win in the November presidential election.
“He greeted me when he came down the aisle. I stood up, extended my hand. He shook my hand. I said, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President,’ and he said, ‘Thanks, Mike,’ ” Pence recalled to the outlet.
Pence also addressed his wife Karen, 68, apparently staring straight ahead and declining to acknowledge Trump and Melania in a seemingly tense moment that was caught on tape.
“You’d have to ask my wife about her posture, but we’ve been married 44 years, and she loves her husband, and her husband respects her deeply,” Pence told the outlet.
The former Indiana governor added that he “welcomed” the opportunity to talk to Trump.
“The opportunity to speak to the president yesterday is something that I appreciated, I welcomed,” he said. “I’ve really been blessed at how much I’ve heard from people around the country who saw [our] handshake, and in that handshake, saw some hope that we might be moving past those difficult days. That’s certainly my hope.”
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The longstanding rift between Trump and Pence dates back to the Jan 6. Capitol riots in 2021. After Joe Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election, Pence informed both Trump and the public that he did not have the constitutional power to intervene in the electoral process, leading to the riots.
According to reports at the time, some members of the mob chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!” and Pence, his wife, their daughter Charlotte Pence Bond and staff members hid from the rioters with the help of Secret Service agents.
In 2023, Pence said that “[Trump’s] reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day.” He added, “I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
Pence previously said during an interview on Fox News in January 2022 that he and Trump had not spoken since the previous summer.
“We talked last summer,” he told host Jesse Watters at the time. “And you know I’ve said many times, it was difficult, Jan. 6 was difficult. It was a tragic day in the life of the nation.”
He continued: “I know I did my duty under the Constitution of the United States, but the president and I sat down in the days that followed that, we spoke about it, talked through it, we parted amicably.”
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