Pence will attend Trump’s inauguration four years after the Jan. 6 riots

On By Littum

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Former Vice President Mike Pence is attending President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, further underscoring the returning commander-in-chief’s growing favorability in Washington.

“This is a day when every American would do well to celebrate our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power under the United States Constitution,” Pence said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, hours before the ceremony.

He entered the Capitol Rotunda shortly after 1 p.m. 11 Eastern Time, unaccompanied by his wife.

Trump and his former running mate have had a rock-solid relationship since January 6, 2021, when Trump’s supporters rioted at the US capitol. Many who stormed the building also threatened violence against Pence for denying block certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

In a 2022 memoir, “So Help Me God,” Pence, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination last year, called Trump a threat to his own security. He later slammed the president-elect, saying in a speech at a black-tie event in 2023 that Trump’s “reckless words threatened my family and everyone in the Capitol that day.”

Trump hit back on the campaign trail, saying without evidence that his former running mate was to blame for the riot “in many ways.”

But the two have been doing well in recent weeks, at least for the cameras that caught them shaking hands and exchanging brief words at the Washington National Cathedral during former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral this month.

It was the first time the two had been seen together in public since Trump pressured Pence not to certify the votes for Biden’s election victory almost exactly four years ago.

Onlookers noted that Karen Pence, the former second lady, did not shake Trump’s hand and did not appear to acknowledge him either. Mike Pence didn’t comment on that exchange, but said so Christianity today that he congratulated Trump.

“Today I will attend the inauguration of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the United States Capitol,” Pence said Monday. “This is a day when every American would do well to celebrate our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power under the United States Constitution.”

Pence may have dropped out early in the GOP primaries, but he hasn’t walked away from politics because of his remaining influence, especially among social conservatives. He recently urged Trump to do so support Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, for example

Cast: Cybele Mayes-Osterman