Mike Pence says he 'welcomed' opportunity to talk to Donald Trump at Jimmy Carter funeral
Former Vice President Mike Pence said in a new interview that he "welcomed" the opportunity to speak with President-elect Donald Trump at former President Jimmy Carter's state funeral service on Thursday.
"The opportunity to speak to the president yesterday is something that I appreciated, I welcomed," Pence told Christianity Today in a podcast interview taped on Friday.
Cameras caught Trump and Pence shake hands and exchange brief words before the start of the service at the Washington National Cathedral. It was the first time the former governing partners and running mates had been seen together publicly since Trump pushed Pence not to certify the votes for Joe Biden's electoral victory almost exactly four years ago.
"I said, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President,’ and he said, ‘Thanks, Mike,’” Pence said.
Pence in the interview also brushed off the body language of his wife, Karen Pence, who did not shake hands with Trump and appeared not to greet him.
“You’d have to ask my wife about her posture," Mike Pence said, adding, "we’ve been married 44 years, and she loves her husband, and her husband respects her deeply.”
In his 2022 memoir, "So Help Me God," Mike Pence blamed Trump for threats to his own safety when a violent mob spurred by Trump's false claims of election fraud stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump's “reckless words had endangered my family and all those serving at the Capitol," he wrote. But the two eventually "parted amicably."
Pence also unsuccessfully ran against Trump in the Republican primary for the 2024 election. During the campaign, Trump said Pence was to blame for the riot "in many ways." Pence shot back that "history will hold Donald Trump accountable."
After Pence ended his White House bid, he refused to endorse Trump.