Former Vice President Mike Pence revealed what he and his former boss, President-elect Donald Trump, said to each other in their first meeting since leaving the White House in 2021.
The once and future commander in chief, 78, had a brief exchange and shook hands with his ex-veep en route to his seat at former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, Thursday.
“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 told Christianity Today during a podcast interview.
Pence, 65, said he was glad to speak to Trump, with whom he has had icy relations since the 2020 election controversy, in which the former president blamed his loss on his veep for certifying the results on Jan. 6, 2021, in his capacity as head of the Senate.
During the certification, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, with many chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.”
“The opportunity to speak to the president yesterday is something that I appreciated, I welcomed,” Pence told the outlet. “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,” Pence revealed to podcast host Russell Moore.
Those “difficult days” included one conversation in which Trump gave an icy reply to a gesture of goodwill from Pence.
In one of their final conversations while in office, Pence offered to pray for Trump, who said, “Don’t bother,” according to Christianity Today.
“I said, ‘You know, there’s probably two things that we’re never going to agree on,” Pence said before that meeting ended.
“We’re probably never going to agree on what my duty was under the Constitution on January 6,” Pence recalled saying, “And I’m never going to stop praying for you.”
“And [Trump] said, ‘That’s right. Mike, don’t ever change.”
Pence also addressed former second lady Karen Pence allegedly being caught on camera giving the cold shoulder to Donald and Melania Trump as they passed her on their way to their seats at Carter’s funeral.
“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 said in the interview.
Former Vice President Mike Pence revealed what he and his former boss, President-elect Donald Trump, said to each other in their first meeting since leaving the White House in 2021.
The once and future commander in chief, 78, had a brief exchange and shook hands with his ex-veep en route to his seat at former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, Thursday.
“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 told Christianity Today during a podcast interview.
Pence, 65, said he was glad to speak to Trump, with whom he has had icy relations since the 2020 election controversy, in which the former president blamed his loss on his veep for certifying the results on Jan. 6, 2021, in his capacity as head of the Senate.
During the certification, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, with many chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.”
“The opportunity to speak to the president yesterday is something that I appreciated, I welcomed,” Pence told the outlet. “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,” Pence revealed to podcast host Russell Moore.
Those “difficult days” included one conversation in which Trump gave an icy reply to a gesture of goodwill from Pence.
In one of their final conversations while in office, Pence offered to pray for Trump, who said, “Don’t bother,” according to Christianity Today.
“I said, ‘You know, there’s probably two things that we’re never going to agree on,” Pence said before that meeting ended.
“We’re probably never going to agree on what my duty was under the Constitution on January 6,” Pence recalled saying, “And I’m never going to stop praying for you.”
“And [Trump] said, ‘That’s right. Mike, don’t ever change.”
Pence also addressed former second lady Karen Pence allegedly being caught on camera giving the cold shoulder to Donald and Melania Trump as they passed her on their way to their seats at Carter’s funeral.
“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 said in the interview.
