Vice presidency of Mike Pence

{{Mike Pence series|align=left}}

{{See also|Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign|2016 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection}}

File:Mike Pence (29270325142).jpg, August 2016.]]

Shortly before the 2016 Indiana Republican presidential primary, Pence endorsed Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, who would lose the primary to Trump. Pence then endorsed Trump after the latter became the party's presumptive nominee for president of the United States.{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/mike-pence-endorses-trump-222891|title=Indiana Gov. Mike Pence endorses Donald Trump|first=Nick|last=Gass|date=May 6, 2016|work=Politico|access-date=August 6, 2023|archive-date=January 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123100020/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/mike-pence-endorses-trump-222891|url-status=live}}

Donald Trump considered naming Pence as his vice presidential running mate along with other finalists including New Jersey governor Chris Christie and former House speaker Newt Gingrich.{{cite news | last=Nussbalm |first=Matthew |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/trump-mike-pence-vice-president-225387 |title=Trump flirts with unpopular Pence| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108104815/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/trump-mike-pence-vice-president-225387 |archivedate=January 8, 2021 |work= Politico|date= July 12, 2016}} Pence had stronger connections at the time to the politically influential big donors, the Kochs, than Trump did.{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/10/18/558525943/understanding-mike-pence-and-his-relationship-to-trump-his-public-role-is-fawnin |title=Understanding Mike Pence And His Relationship To Trump: 'His Public Role Is Fawning' |first1=Terry |last1=Gross |author-link1=Terry Gross |first2=Jane |last2=Mayer |author-link2=Jane Mayer |date=October 18, 2017 |website=NPR.org |publisher=Fresh Air |access-date=October 22, 2017 |archive-date=October 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022032858/http://www.npr.org/2017/10/18/558525943/understanding-mike-pence-and-his-relationship-to-trump-his-public-role-is-fawnin |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-koch-trump-201708-story.html |title=They snubbed Trump. But the Koch network has still exerted a surprising influence over the White House |first=Lisa |last=Mascaro |date=August 15, 2017 |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=October 26, 2017 |archive-date=October 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026043821/http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-koch-trump-201708-story.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-vice-president-pence-to-headline-koch-1506705515-htmlstory.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929220417/http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-vice-president-pence-to-headline-koch-1506705515-htmlstory.html |url-status=live |archive-date=September 29, 2017 |title=Pence to headline Koch network's strategy session for the midterm elections |first=Lisa |last=Mascaro |date=September 29, 2017 |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=October 26, 2017 |quote=The network, founded by billionaire industrialist Koch brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch, has close ties to Pence, which has helped enable it to exert influence in the White House despite not endorsing President Trump in 2016. }}{{cite web |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/355600-bannon-kochs-would-own-pence-if-he-became-president/ |title=Bannon: Kochs 'would own' Pence if he became president |first=Mallory |last=Shelbourne |date=October 16, 2017 |website=The Hill |access-date=October 26, 2017}} It was widely reported on July 14 that Pence planned to end his (Indiana gubernatorial) re-election campaign and accept the Republican vice presidential nomination instead.{{cite news|url=http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/14/report-pence-trumps-vp-pick/87075866/|title=Pence is Trump's VP pick|first1=James|last1=Briggs|first2=Tony|last2=Cook|newspaper=The Indianapolis Star|date=July 14, 2016|access-date=July 14, 2016|archive-date=November 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130142907/https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/14/report-pence-trumps-vp-pick/87075866/|url-status=live}} The following day, Trump officially announced on Twitter that Pence would be his running mate.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/jul/15/donald-trump-vice-president-clinton-convention-election|title=Donald Trump announces Mike Pence as VP pick|last=Jamieson|first=Amber|work=The Guardian|date=July 15, 2016|access-date=July 15, 2016|archive-date=July 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715135858/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/jul/15/donald-trump-vice-president-clinton-convention-election|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=O'Donnell|first1=Kelly|title=Its Official: Trump Announces Mike Pence as VP Pick|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-conventions/its-official-trump-announces-mike-pence-vp-pick-n610111|work=NBC News|date=July 15, 2016|access-date=July 15, 2016|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124152525/https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-conventions/its-official-trump-announces-mike-pence-vp-pick-n610111|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Bradner|first1=Eric|last2=Bash|first2=Dana|last3=Lee|first3=MJ|title=Donald Trump selects Mike Pence as VP|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/14/politics/donald-trump-vice-presidential-choice/|publisher=CNN|date=July 16, 2016|access-date=July 15, 2016|archive-date=October 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019193348/https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/14/politics/donald-trump-vice-presidential-choice/|url-status=live}}

Immediately after the announcement, Pence said he was "very supportive of Donald Trump's call to temporarily suspend immigration from countries where terrorist influence and impact represents a threat to the United States".{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/15/politics/mike-pence-donald-trump-muslim-ban/index.html|title=Pence 'very supportive' of latest version of Trump Muslim ban|first1=Theodore|last1=Schleifer|first2=Olivia|last2=Beavers|publisher=CNN|date=July 16, 2016|access-date=July 16, 2016|archive-date=December 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209071615/https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/15/politics/mike-pence-donald-trump-muslim-ban/index.html|url-status=live}} Pence said he was "absolutely" in sync with Trump's Mexican wall proposal, saying Mexico was "absolutely" going to pay for it.{{Cite web|first1=Alana|last1=Abramson|first2=Ines|last2=de la Cuetara|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-pence-walks-back-prior-positions-stand-trump/story?id=40633445|title=Pence Walks Back Positions on Muslims, TPP to Stand With Trump|date=July 16, 2016|work=ABC News|access-date=June 28, 2020|archive-date=January 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110190029/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-pence-walks-back-prior-positions-stand-trump/story?id=40633445|url-status=live}}

According to a FiveThirtyEight rating of candidates' ideology, Pence was the most conservative vice-presidential candidate in the last 40 years.{{Cite web |first=Harry |last=Enten |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/mike-pence-would-be-a-really-conservative-and-mostly-unknown-vp-pick/ |title=Mike Pence Is A Really Conservative And Mostly Unknown VP Pick |work=FiveThirtyEight |date=July 15, 2016 |access-date=September 30, 2024 |archive-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126210655/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/mike-pence-would-be-a-really-conservative-and-mostly-unknown-vp-pick/ |url-status=live }}

Pence called Dick Cheney his role model for vice president.{{cite news |first=Ines |last=de la Cuertara |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-pence-role-model-vice-president-dick-cheney/story?id=42170897 |title=Mike Pence Says His Role Model for Vice President Is Dick Cheney |work=ABC News |date=September 18, 2016 |access-date=June 28, 2020 |archive-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214235617/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-pence-role-model-vice-president-dick-cheney/story?id=42170897 |url-status=live }}

During Pence's preparations for the vice presidential debate in October 2016, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker played the role of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine.{{cite news |first=Mike |last=Allen |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/tim-kaine-scott-walker-debate-prep-228317 |title=Exclusive: Here's who's playing Tim Kaine in GOP debate prep |newspaper=Politico |date=September 17, 2016 |access-date=September 18, 2016 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108105828/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/tim-kaine-scott-walker-debate-prep-228317 |url-status=live }} In Kaine's own debate prep, lawyer Robert Barnett was selected to play Pence.{{cite news |first=Annie |last=Karni |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/robert-barnett-mike-pence-tim-kaine-presidential-debates-228316 |title=Exclusive: Robert Barnett to play Mike Pence in Tim Kaine debate prep |newspaper=Politico |date=September 17, 2016 |access-date=September 18, 2016 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108131427/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/robert-barnett-mike-pence-tim-kaine-presidential-debates-228316 |url-status=live }} Following the debate, experts concluded Pence won against Kaine, with a CNN poll showing 48 percent of viewers thought Pence won and 42 percent believing Kaine won.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/05/politics/mike-pence-tim-kaine-vp-debate-poll/index.html|title=Pence edges Kaine in VP debate instant poll|first=Jennifer|last=Agiesta|website=CNN|date=October 5, 2016|access-date=July 4, 2020|archive-date=July 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704070056/https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/05/politics/mike-pence-tim-kaine-vp-debate-poll/index.html|url-status=live}} Pence's "cooler" temperament was seen as an advantage compared to Kaine, who was perceived as more hotheaded.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37558787|title=Pence v Kaine: Who won the vice-presidential debate?|first=Anthony|last=Zurcher|website=BBC News|date=October 5, 2016|access-date=July 4, 2020|archive-date=July 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717175921/https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37558787|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/05/opinions/pence-kaine-debate-reaction-roundup/index.html|title=Who won the vice presidential debate?|website=CNN|date=October 5, 2016|access-date=July 4, 2020|archive-date=July 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704080723/https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/05/opinions/pence-kaine-debate-reaction-roundup/index.html|url-status=live}}

On October 7, 2016, lewd comments made by Donald Trump in 2005 surfaced and gained heavy media attention.{{cite news |last=Cassidy |first=John |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/a-sexual-predator-in-the-republican-partys-midst |title=A Sexual Predator in the Republican Party's Midst |newspaper=The New Yorker |date=October 8, 2016 |access-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203030648/https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/a-sexual-predator-in-the-republican-partys-midst |url-status=live }} That day, Pence said to reporters, "I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them," but made clear that he was standing by Trump.{{cite news |last=Quinn |first=Dave |url=http://people.com/politics/mike-pence-donald-trumps-2005-lewd-comments/ |title=Mike Pence 'Offended' and Praying for Donald Trump's Family Amid Crisis Over His 2005 Lewd Comments |newspaper=People |department=Politics |date=October 8, 2016 |access-date=October 8, 2016 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108125052/https://people.com/politics/mike-pence-donald-trumps-2005-lewd-comments/ |url-status=live }} In response to the revelation, Paul Ryan "uninvited" Trump from what would have been a joint campaign event. The Trump campaign attempted to substitute Pence for Trump at the event,{{cite news |last=Fahrenthold |first=David A. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_trumptape-404pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory |title=Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 8, 2016 |access-date=October 8, 2016 |archive-date=January 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104025018/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_trumptape-404pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory |url-status=live }} but according to The New York Times, Pence called Trump on October{{spaces}}8 and told him that he (Pence) would not appear at the event, and that Trump would need to handle the next 48 hours on his own, as Pence did not think he would be an effective surrogate for Trump.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/us/politics/donald-trump-campaign.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008175442/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/us/politics/donald-trump-campaign.html |archive-date=October 8, 2016 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Lewd Donald Trump Tape Is a Breaking Point for Many in the G.O.P.|date=October 9, 2016|work=The New York Times}}

According to Bob Woodward's 2018 book Fear: Trump in the White House, in the midst of the scandal, then-Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus told Trump he should drop out of the race for the good of the party, and that Pence had agreed to replace Trump on the top of the ticket as the Republican presidential nominee, with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice agreeing to be Pence's running mate.{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/top-takeaways-bob-woodwards-book-donald-trump/story?id=57611974 |title=Here are the top takeaways from Bob Woodward's new book on Donald Trump |work=ABC News |date=September 5, 2018 |access-date=October 14, 2018 |archive-date=October 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014091311/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/top-takeaways-bob-woodwards-book-donald-trump/story?id=57611974 |url-status=live }}

On October 10, 2016, Pence appeared on CNN and said, in response to rumors that he was leaving the ticket, that it was "absolutely false to suggest that at any point in time we considered dropping off this ticket" and that it is the "greatest honor of my life" to be nominated as Trump's running mate.{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/10/politics/mike-pence-donald-trump/index.html|title=Pence: I never considered leaving Trump ticket|first=Tom|last=LoBianco|date=October 10, 2016|publisher=CNN|access-date=October 14, 2016|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107022122/https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/10/politics/mike-pence-donald-trump/index.html|url-status=live}}

On November 8, 2016, Pence was elected vice president of the United States as Trump's running mate.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/election-day-an-acrimonious-race-reaches-its-end-point/2016/11/08/32b96c72-a557-11e6-ba59-a7d93165c6d4_story.html|title=Donald Trump wins the presidency in stunning upset over Clinton|first1=Karen|last1=Tumulty|first2=Philip|last2=Rucker|first3=Anne|last3=Gearan|date=November 9, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 6, 2023|archive-date=February 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228131956/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/election-day-an-acrimonious-race-reaches-its-end-point/2016/11/08/32b96c72-a557-11e6-ba59-a7d93165c6d4_story.html|url-status=live}}

File:Mike Pence swearing in ceremony.jpg on January 20, 2017]]

Soon after the election, he was appointed chairman of President-elect Trump's transition team.{{cite news | last1=Shear | first1=Michael D. | last2=Haberman | first2=Maggie | last3=Schmidt | first3=Michael S. | title=Vice President-Elect Pence to Take Over Trump Transition Effort | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/us/politics/trump-cabinet.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111171252/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/us/politics/trump-cabinet.html |archive-date=November 11, 2016 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | date=November 11, 2016 | newspaper=The New York Times | access-date=December 4, 2016}} During the transition phase of the Trump administration, Pence was reported as holding a large degree of influence in the administration due to his roles as a mediator between Trump and congressional Republicans, for reassuring conservatives about Trump's conservative credentials, and his influence in determining Donald Trump's cabinet.{{cite web | last1=Johnson | first1=Eliana | last2=Restuccia | first2=Andrew | title=Pence's Power Play | url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/mike-pence-power-play-trump-transition-232151 | date=December 4, 2016 | work=Politico | access-date=December 4, 2016 | archive-date=December 4, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204134927/http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/mike-pence-power-play-trump-transition-232151 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | last1=LoBianco | first1=Tom | last2=Bradner | first2=Eric | title=Mike Pence's Key Role in Building Team Trump | url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/30/politics/mike-pence-role-donald-trump-administration/index.html | date=December 1, 2016 | publisher=CNN | access-date=December 4, 2016 | archive-date=December 4, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204012146/http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/30/politics/mike-pence-role-donald-trump-administration/index.html | url-status=live }}

On January 20, 2017, at noon, Pence became the 48th vice president of the United States, sworn into the office by justice Clarence Thomas.{{cite news|last1=Groppe|first1=Maureen|title=Mike Pence's swearing-in is full of symbolism|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/19/mike-pence-vice-president-swearing-in-symbolism/96782426/|access-date=January 21, 2017|work=USA Today|date=January 19, 2017|archive-date=January 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122132021/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/19/mike-pence-vice-president-swearing-in-symbolism/96782426/|url-status=live}}

{{See also|First presidency of Donald Trump}}

File:-UNGA (48784378391).jpg

On the first day in office (January 20), Pence performed various ceremonial duties, including swearing in Jim Mattis as United States secretary of defense and John Kelly as secretary of homeland security.{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/inauguration-2017/senate-confirms-gen-james-mattis-defense-secretary-n710061 |title=Trump's Defense and Homeland Security Picks Sworn-in |work=NBC News |first=Leigh Ann |last=Caldwell |date=January 20, 2017 |access-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-date=June 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613130713/https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/inauguration-2017/senate-confirms-gen-james-mattis-defense-secretary-n710061 |url-status=live }} He also administered the oath of office to the White House senior staff on January 22, 2017.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/01/22/trump-pence-preside-over-east-room-ceremony-to-swear-in-senior-staff/ |title=Trump, Pence preside over East Room ceremony to swear in senior staff |newspaper=The Washington Post |first1=David |last1=Nakamura |first2=John |last2=Wagner |date=January 22, 2017 |access-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-date=January 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122211959/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/01/22/trump-pence-preside-over-east-room-ceremony-to-swear-in-senior-staff/ |url-status=live }}

Pence also sat in on calls made by President Trump to foreign heads of government and state such as Russian president Vladimir Putin{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/president-trump-calls-russia-vladimir-putin-article-1.2958138 |title=President Trump calls Russia's Vladimir Putin for first time since taking office |work=New York Daily News |first=Meg |last=Wagner |date=January 28, 2017 |access-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-date=February 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208033822/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/president-trump-calls-russia-vladimir-putin-article-1.2958138 |url-status=live }} and Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/politics/australia-mexico-transcripts/|title='This deal will make me look terrible': Full transcripts of Trump's calls with Mexico and Australia|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=January 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110181337/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/politics/australia-mexico-transcripts/|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/no-gday-mate-on-call-with-australian-pm-trump-badgers-and-brags/2017/02/01/88a3bfb0-e8bf-11e6-80c2-30e57e57e05d_story.html |title='This was the worst call by far': Trump badgered, bragged and abruptly ended phone call with Australian leader |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=June 10, 2018 |archive-date=April 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413190101/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/no-gday-mate-on-call-with-australian-pm-trump-badgers-and-brags/2017/02/01/88a3bfb0-e8bf-11e6-80c2-30e57e57e05d_story.html |url-status=live }}

In January, Pence appointed Josh Pitcock as his chief of staff, whom he had known from his gubernatorial and congressional days.{{cite web |url=http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/behind-closed-doors/2017/01/25/pence-tapping-former-aides-and-some-lobbyists-vp-office-staff/97058968/ |title=Pence tapping former aides, and some lobbyists, for VP office staff |work=The Indianapolis Star |first=Maureen |last=Groppe |date=January 25, 2017 |access-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-date=January 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117074454/https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/behind-closed-doors/2017/01/25/pence-tapping-former-aides-and-some-lobbyists-vp-office-staff/97058968/ |url-status=live }} The following month, Jarrod Agen was tapped as deputy assistant to the president and director of communications to the vice president; his previous job being chief of staff for governor of Michigan Rick Snyder through the time of the Flint water crisis.{{cite web |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/01/vice-president-mike-pence-announces-jarrod-agen-director-communications|title=Vice President Mike Pence Announces Jarrod Agen as Director of Communications |date=February 1, 2017 |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=February 7, 2017}} In July, Pitcock stepped down as chief of staff, and was succeeded in the position by Nick Ayers, another longtime Pence advisor.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/29/mike-pence-staff-shakeup-nick-ayers-vice-presidents-chief-staff/439727001/|title=Mike Pence's first major staff shakeup: Josh Pitcock out, Nick Ayers in as chief of staff|work=USA Today|first=Maureen|last=Groppe|date=June 29, 2017|access-date=May 25, 2018|archive-date=June 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613100650/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/29/mike-pence-staff-shakeup-nick-ayers-vice-presidents-chief-staff/439727001/|url-status=live}}

On February 5, 2017, Pence warned Iran "not to test the resolve" of the new Trump administration following their ballistic missile tests.{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/us-iran-pence-warning-not-to-test-resolve/28280320.html|title=White House Warns Iran To 'Think Twice' Before Testing U.S. Resolve|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=February 5, 2017|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614081002/https://www.rferl.org/a/us-iran-pence-warning-not-to-test-resolve/28280320.html|url-status=live}}

On February 7, 2017, Pence, in his dual constitutional role as president of the United States Senate made the first ever tie-breaking vote to confirm a Cabinet member.{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/devos-confirmed-as-education-secretary-pence-casts-historic-tie-breaking-vote |title=DeVos confirmed as education secretary, Pence casts historic tie-breaking vote |website=Fox News |agency=Associated Press |date=February 7, 2017 |access-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-date=February 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208000531/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/07/devos-confirmed-as-education-secretary-pence-casts-historic-tie-breaking-vote.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=February 7, 2012 |first=Aaron |last=Bycoffe |work=FiveThirtyEight |title=Pence Has Already Done Something Biden Never Did: Break A Senate Tie |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/pence-has-already-done-something-biden-never-did-break-a-senate-tie/ |quote=Vice presidents have broken ties on presidential nominees before, but Tuesday was the first time it's happened for a Cabinet nominee ... according to the Senate Historical Office |access-date=February 16, 2017 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103082937/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/pence-has-already-done-something-biden-never-did-break-a-senate-tie/ |url-status=live }} He cast the deciding vote to break a fifty-fifty tie to confirm Betsy DeVos as the secretary of education.{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/betsy-devos-democrats-confirmation-234691 |title=Senate confirms DeVos as secretary of education |work=Politico |first1=Michael |last1=Stratford |first2=Kimberly |last2=Hefling |first3=Caitlin |last3=Emma |first4=Benjamin |last4=Wermund |date=February 7, 2017 |access-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207231942/http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/betsy-devos-democrats-confirmation-234691 |url-status=live }} Pence cast his second tie-breaking vote on March 30, voting to advance a bill to defund Planned Parenthood.{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/mike-pence-johnny-isakson-planned-parenthood-vote-senate-236702 |title=Pence breaks tie in Senate vote on Planned Parenthood funding |work=Politico |first1=Seung Min |last1=Kim |first2=Brianna |last2=Ehley |date=March 30, 2017 |access-date=March 30, 2017 |archive-date=March 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330204911/http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/mike-pence-johnny-isakson-planned-parenthood-vote-senate-236702 |url-status=live }} In 2018, Pence broke a tie to confirm Jonathan A. Kobes for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. This was the first-ever tie-breaking vote to confirm a judicial nominee in U.S. history. In total, Pence cast 13 tie-breaking votes, the seventh-most in history and more than the previous four predecessors combined. (By comparison, his successor, Kamala Harris, cast a total of 33 tie-breaking votes, the most by any senate president, and more than the previous six predecessors combined.)

On May 21, 2017, Pence delivered the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. Traditionally, the president delivers the address at Notre Dame in his inaugural year, but in 2017 Pence was invited instead when Trump decided to speak at Liberty University.{{cite web|last1=Stack|first1=Liam|title=Notre Dame Students Walk Out of Mike Pence Commencement Address|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/us/mike-pence-notre-dame-commencement-address.html?mcubz=3|website=The New York Times|date=May 21, 2017|access-date=September 18, 2017|archive-date=October 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024092226/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/us/mike-pence-notre-dame-commencement-address.html?mcubz=3|url-status=live}}{{cite web|author1=Rosa Flores|author2=Eric Levenson|author3=Susannah Cullinane|title=Some Notre Dame graduates walk out at Pence speech|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/mike-pence-notre-dame-speech/index.html|website=CNN|date=May 22, 2017|access-date=September 18, 2017|archive-date=November 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117191857/https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/mike-pence-notre-dame-speech/index.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/09/15/pence-spokesman-leave-post/670980001 |title=Pence spokesman to leave post |first1=Kaitlin |last1=Lange |first2=Tony |last2=Cook |date=September 15, 2017 |website=USA Today |access-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-date=October 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004141343/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/09/15/pence-spokesman-leave-post/670980001/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/13/trump-at-liberty-university-commencement-in-america-we-dont-worship-government-we-worship-god/|title=Trump at Liberty University commencement: 'In America, we don't worship government; we worship God'|last=Borchers|first=Callum|date=May 13, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 4, 2019|archive-date=June 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630073245/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/13/trump-at-liberty-university-commencement-in-america-we-dont-worship-government-we-worship-god/|url-status=live}}

File:Mike Pence NFL Protests 2017.jpg, and Major General Courtney P. Carr stand for the national anthem.]]

On October 8, 2017, Pence walked out of a game between the NFL's Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers after members of the 49ers knelt during the national anthem. Shortly afterwards, Pence commented via Twitter, "President Trump and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our national anthem," adding, "While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I don't think it's too much to ask NFL players to respect the flag and our national anthem."{{cite news |url=https://time.com/4973848/mike-pence-national-anthem-nfl-protest/ |title=Vice President Mike Pence Leaves Football Game After Players Kneel During National Anthem |last=Abramson |first=Alana |magazine=Time |date=October 8, 2017 |access-date=January 11, 2018 |archive-date=January 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110230605/http://time.com/4973848/mike-pence-national-anthem-nfl-protest/ |url-status=live }} Pence was widely criticized by various people for what was considered a publicity stunt. Democratic representative Adam Schiff (CA-28) questioned how much taxpayer's money was used to fund Pence's actions,{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/08/pence-nfl-game-anthem-protest-243583|title=Pence leaves NFL game after players kneel during anthem|work=Politico|first=Brent D.|last=Griffiths|date=October 8, 2017|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141630/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/08/pence-nfl-game-anthem-protest-243583|url-status=live}} and CNN later estimated that the total cost of his eight hours of travel on Air Force Two to attend the game was about $242,500, not including ground transportation and security.{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/08/politics/pence-indianapolis-flights-cost/index.html|title=The price tag for Pence's trip to Indianapolis |work=CNN |first=Rene |last=Marsh |date=October 8, 2017 |access-date=June 10, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506120148/https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/08/politics/pence-indianapolis-flights-cost/index.html |archive-date=May 6, 2020}} 49ers safety Eric Reid (the second NFL player after Colin Kaepernick to participate in the protests) told reporters it was predictable that Pence would walk out, knowing that most of the team were protesting. Reid also expressed doubt over the regularity Pence is in terms of attending Colts matches, and referenced a photograph of the vice president and his wife in Colts uniform that had been tweeted before the match, although the official photograph (right) proved otherwise. The photograph in question was first published in 2014.{{cite web |url=https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2017/10/08/vice-president-mike-pence-colts-national-anthem-protest/744447001/ |title=Mike Pence tweets same picture from Colts game that he tweeted in 2014 |work=CNN |first=Matthew |last=VanTryon |date=October 8, 2017 |access-date=June 10, 2018 |archive-date=August 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807112927/https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2017/10/08/vice-president-mike-pence-colts-national-anthem-protest/744447001/ |url-status=live }} Sportswriter Peter King wrote that the furor surrounding Pence had overshadowed Peyton Manning, who was being honored by the Colts, saying, "Pence trumped a day that belonged to the greatest football hero the state of Indiana has ever seen, and he did it for political purposes{{spaces}}... he stole Manning's last great day as a Colt. [He] will have to live with himself for that." The following year, Pence reacted positively on Twitter, after NFL owners unanimously decided to approve a new policy requiring all players to stand (or, given the option to stay in the locker room) during the national anthem, despite not consulting the NFL Players Association.{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/389031-pence-celebrates-nfl-requiring-players-to-stand-for-anthem-winning/|title=Pence celebrates NFL requiring players to stand for anthem: 'Winning'|work=The Hill|first=Josh|last=Delk|date=May 23, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018}}

On June 30, 2017, Pence was appointed chair of the National Space Council after Trump signed an executive order reestablishing the council.{{cite news |last=Kaplan |first=Sarah |date=June 30, 2017 |title=President Trump relaunches the National Space Council |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/06/30/trump-relaunches-the-national-space-council/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=July 31, 2023 |archive-date=November 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117080740/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/06/30/trump-relaunches-the-national-space-council/ |url-status=live }} As chair, Pence held eight meetings from 2017 to 2020.{{cite news |last=Wall |first=Mike |date=December 1, 2021 |title=National Space Council meeting today: Watch live here at 1:30 pm ET |url=https://www.space.com/national-space-council-first-meeting-kamala-harris-webcast |work=Space.com |access-date=July 31, 2023}}

File:Vice President Mike Pence Watches Short Track Speedskating with President Moon DSC 7859.jpg at the 2018 Winter Olympics]]

In April, Pence made a tour of the Asia-Pacific region. In South Korea, he met acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn and condemned North Korea's latest missile launch.{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-pence-arrives-south-korea-attends-wreath-laying/story?id=46825962 |title=Mike Pence arrives in South Korea, attends wreath-laying ceremony and Easter Sunday services |work=ABC News |first=David |last=Caplan |date=April 16, 2017 |access-date=April 17, 2017 |archive-date=April 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417062705/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-pence-arrives-south-korea-attends-wreath-laying/story?id=46825962 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pence-lands-south-korea-failed-launch-north-46825425 |title=Pence warns NKorea 'era of strategic patience is over' |work=ABC News |agency=Associated Press |date=April 16, 2017 |access-date=April 17, 2017 |first=Ken |last=Thomas |archive-date=April 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416211448/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pence-lands-south-korea-failed-launch-north-46825425 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-pence-north-korea-military-20170416-story.html |title=Trump's message to North Korea: 'Gotta behave' |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=April 17, 2017 |access-date=April 18, 2017 |first1=Ken |last1=Thomas |first2=Jill |last2=Colvin |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=April 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418005752/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-pence-north-korea-military-20170416-story.html |url-status=live }} In Japan, Pence met Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and pledged to work with Japan, South Korea, and China "to achieve a peaceable resolution and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," adding "The era of strategic patience is over and while all options are on the table."{{cite news|last1=Rampton|first1=Roberta|title=Pence reassures Japan of U.S. resolve on North Korea, to work with China|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-idUSKBN17K07A|access-date=April 22, 2017|work=Reuters|date=April 19, 2017|archive-date=April 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421221104/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-idUSKBN17K07A|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Cahill|first1=Petra|title=VP Mike Pence Warns North Korea: 'We Will Defeat Any Attack'|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/vp-mike-pence-warns-north-korea-we-will-defeat-any-n748161|access-date=April 22, 2017|work=NBC News|date=April 19, 2017|language=en|archive-date=April 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421201554/http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/vp-mike-pence-warns-north-korea-we-will-defeat-any-n748161|url-status=live}} Pence subsequently traveled to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he met with president Joko Widodo, toured the largest mosque in the region (the Istiqlal Mosque), and praised moderate Islam.{{cite news|last1=Rampton|first1=Roberta|title=Pence tours Southeast Asia's biggest mosque, talks trade in Indonesia|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pence-asia-indonesia-idUSKBN17M0D1|access-date=April 22, 2017|work=Reuters|date=April 20, 2017|archive-date=April 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422133536/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pence-asia-indonesia-idUSKBN17M0D1|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Liptak|first1=Kevin|title=Pence praises moderate Islam in Indonesia|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/20/politics/mike-pence-indonesia-islam/|access-date=April 22, 2017|publisher=CNN|date=April 20, 2017|archive-date=April 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423041549/http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/20/politics/mike-pence-indonesia-islam/|url-status=live}} Pence ended his trip with stops in Sydney, Australia (where, after meeting with Malcolm Turnbull, he said the U.S. "intends to honor" a U.S.–Australia refugee resettlement agreement),{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/22/politics/us-australia-pence-refugee-deal/ |title=Pence says US will honor refugee deal with Australia |date=April 22, 2017 |access-date=April 24, 2017 |first=Laura |last=Smith-Spark |work=CNN |department=Politics |archive-date=April 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424173831/http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/22/politics/us-australia-pence-refugee-deal/ |url-status=live }} Oahu, Hawaii, and American Samoa.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-pence-cuts-short-his-stop-in-hawaii-to-deal-with-domestic-issues/ |title=Mike Pence cuts short his stop in Hawaii to deal with domestic issues |date=April 24, 2017 |access-date=April 24, 2017 |work=CBS News |archive-date=April 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425115215/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-pence-cuts-short-his-stop-in-hawaii-to-deal-with-domestic-issues/ |url-status=live }}

On February 1, 2018, it was announced that Pence would lead the presidential delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics, alongside his wife.{{cite web|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/01/vice-president-mike-pence-announces-jarrod-agen-director-communications|title=Presidential Delegation to Attend Winter Olympics|date=February 1, 2018|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov |access-date=June 10, 2018}} Much of Pence's time at Pyeongchang was affected by the ongoing North Korean crisis. Prior to the opening ceremony, on February 9, Pence skipped on a dinner held by South Korean president Moon Jae-in, as he would have shared a table with North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-43003564|title=Winter Olympics 2018: Pence skips dinner with N Koreans|publisher=BBC News|date=February 9, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=June 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625113522/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-43003564|url-status=live}} Instead, he met with four North Korean defectors in Pyeongtaek, alongside his special guest, Fred Warmbier (the father of Otto Warmbier, who was arrested in North Korea for attempted theft, and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment, before returning to the U.S. in a comatose state).{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42950087|title=Otto Warmbier's father to attend Olympics in South Korea|publisher=BBC News|date=February 5, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=July 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703064512/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42950087|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/02/09/mike-pence-accompanied-otto-warmbiers-father-meets-north-korean-defectors/322624002/|title=Mike Pence, accompanied by Otto Warmbier's father, meets with North Korean defectors|work=Cincinnati.com|date=February 9, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=January 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108224235/https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/02/09/mike-pence-accompanied-otto-warmbiers-father-meets-north-korean-defectors/322624002/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/04/politics/otto-warmbier-father-pyeongchang-olympics/index.html|title=Father of Otto Warmbier will attend Olympic Opening Ceremony with Pence|work=CNN|first=Aileen|last=Graef|date=February 5, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612154006/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/04/politics/otto-warmbier-father-pyeongchang-olympics/index.html|url-status=live}} At the ceremony, the Pences were seated in front of the North Korean delegates, and when North and South Korean athletes entered during the Parade of Athletes, they chose to stay seated, which prompted critics to accuse Pence of hypocrisy in regard to the NFL protests.{{cite news|last1=Banks|first1=Paul M.|title=Winter Olympics Verify Mike Pence Hypocrisy on NFL National Anthem Protests|url=http://www.chicagonow.com/patriotic-dissenter/2018/02/winter-olympics-verify-mike-pence-hypocrisy-on-nfl-national-anthem-protests/|access-date=February 13, 2018|work=ChicagoNow|date=February 9, 2018|archive-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213115735/http://www.chicagonow.com/patriotic-dissenter/2018/02/winter-olympics-verify-mike-pence-hypocrisy-on-nfl-national-anthem-protests/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Meeks|first1=David|title=By not standing for Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics, VP Mike Pence embarrassed America|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/12/vice-president-mike-pence-north-korea-embarrassed-america/328254002/|access-date=February 13, 2018|work=USA Today|date=February 12, 2018|archive-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212220522/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/12/vice-president-mike-pence-north-korea-embarrassed-america/328254002/|url-status=live}} Pence was supposed to meet with the North Koreans on February 10, but they pulled out at the last day.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-43137023|title=N Korea cancelled Pence Olympic meeting in S Korea, says US|publisher=BBC News|date=February 21, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=June 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621090824/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-43137023|url-status=live}}

File:President Trump Watches as U.S. Special Operations Forces Close in on ISIS Leader (48967991042).jpg on ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on October 26, 2019]]

Over the next few months, the North Koreans started communicating more with their neighbors, as Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un secretly met with Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping in March and then Moon Jae-in in an historic inter-Korean summit in April,{{cite news|title=Stop Calling China's Xi Jinping 'President,' U.S. Panel Says|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/stop-calling-chinas-xi-jinping-president-u-s-panel-says-11573740000|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=November 14, 2019|author=Kate O'Keeffe and Katy Stech Ferek|language=en|access-date=December 22, 2019|archive-date=November 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115142227/https://www.wsj.com/articles/stop-calling-chinas-xi-jinping-president-u-s-panel-says-11573740000|url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Momentum grows for dropping 'President' from title of China's leader; Remove 'veneer' of legitimacy |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/28/xi-jinping-dubbed-china-general-secretary-shows-tr/ |publisher=The Washington Times |date=November 28, 2019 |first=Ben |last=Wolfgang |language=en |access-date=December 22, 2019 |archive-date=December 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215175131/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/28/xi-jinping-dubbed-china-general-secretary-shows-tr/ |url-status=live }} and around the same time, a meeting between Trump and Kim was also proposed. On May 10, Pence accompanied Trump to Andrews Air Force Base as three American citizens were released by North Korea, and in an early morning interview with ABC's Jonathan Karl, he said seeing the men back on American soil "was really one of the greatest joys of my life".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/10/trump-welcomes-home-three-americans-released-by-north-korea-pyongyang|title=Trump welcomes home three Americans released by North Korea|work=The Guardian|first=Benjamin|last=Haas|date=May 10, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143609/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/10/trump-welcomes-home-three-americans-released-by-north-korea-pyongyang|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/released-prisoners-greatest-joys-life-pence/story?id=55063444|title=Seeing released prisoners from North Korea 'one of the greatest joys of my life,' Pence says|work=ABC News|first1=Alisa|last1=Wiersema|first2=Jonathan|last2=Karl|first3=Justin|last3=Doom|date=May 10, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143447/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/released-prisoners-greatest-joys-life-pence/story?id=55063444|url-status=live}} Talks broke down later that month following comments made by Pence and Trump, comparing the situation to events in Libya seven years previous, despite their voluntary disarmament of nuclear weapons in 2003.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/24/trump-cancels-north-korea-nuclear-summit|title=Donald Trump cancels North Korea nuclear summit|work=The Guardian|first1=Julian|last1=Borger|first2=Benjamin|last2=Haas|date=May 24, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=June 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180610071331/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/24/trump-cancels-north-korea-nuclear-summit|url-status=live}} North Korean vice foreign minister Choe Son-hui called Pence's remarks "ignorant and stupid".{{cite news|last1=Noack|first1=Rick|title=How Kim-Trump tensions escalated: The more the U.S. said 'Libya', the angrier North Korea got|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2018/05/24/the-more-pence-and-trump-say-libya-the-angrier-north-korea-gets|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 25, 2018|archive-date=May 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525061808/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2018/05/24/the-more-pence-and-trump-say-libya-the-angrier-north-korea-gets/|url-status=live}} On May 24, Trump abruptly called off the summit with Pence in attendance, only for him to change his mind a day later,{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/25/donald-trump-north-korea-summit-reversal |title=Donald Trump says North Korea summit could be back on |work=The Guardian |first1=Sabrina |last1=Siddiqui |first2=Benjamin |last2=Haas |first3=Justin |last3=McCurry |date=May 25, 2018 |access-date=June 10, 2018 |archive-date=June 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609005602/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/25/donald-trump-north-korea-summit-reversal |url-status=live }} later announcing that it would still be scheduled to take place on June 12 in Singapore.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/27/north-korea-us-summit-on-track-says-moon-candid-talks-friend-kim-jong-un|title=Trump confirms US negotiators in North Korea for summit talks|work=The Guardian|first1=Benjamin|last1=Haas|first2=Tom|last2=McCarthy|first3=martin|last3=Pengelly|date=May 27, 2018|access-date=June 10, 2018|archive-date=June 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180610000652/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/27/north-korea-us-summit-on-track-says-moon-candid-talks-friend-kim-jong-un|url-status=live}}

In October 2018, Pence gave a speech regarding China at the Hudson Institute, accusing China of predatory economic practices, military aggression and trying to undermine President Trump. He said China "wants a different American president", and accused the country of meddling in U.S. elections. He said China was building "an unparalleled surveillance state" to suppress minorities, and accused it of engaging in "debt-trap diplomacy". In regards to Taiwan, he said "while our administration will continue to respect our One China Policy … Taiwan’s embrace of democracy shows a better path for all the Chinese people".{{Cite web |last1=Gaouette |first1=Nicole |last2=Labott |first2=Elise |last3=Griffiths |first3=James |last4=Westcott |first4=Ben |date=2018-10-04 |title=Pence attacks China on 'predatory' trade, 'aggression' |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/04/politics/pence-china-trump-intl/index.html |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=CNN |language=en}} The New York Times wrote the speech, with a tone much more hawkish than what U.S. officials previously used regarding China, was similar to a declaration of a new Cold War.{{Cite news |last=Perlez |first=Jane |date=5 October 2018 |title=Pence's China Speech Seen as Portent of 'New Cold War' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/05/world/asia/pence-china-speech-cold-war.html |access-date=3 January 2025 |work=The New York Times}}

File:National Veterans Day Observance 2019 (49051656176).jpg and fellow Hoosier Dan Quayle and Marilyn Quayle with Pence in 2019]]

In September 2019, Pence attended official meetings with Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin, Ireland but stayed at President Trump's resort in Doonbeg, {{convert|180|miles|km}} away. Pence's schedule included four hours spent in transit in one day, and two flights on Air Force Two before the end of the next day. Costs for the limousine service alone totaled $599,000 according to State Department receipts, compared to President Obama's three-day trip to Dublin with the same limousine company totaling $114,000.{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Allan |date=September 11, 2019 |title=Pence's Doonbeg detour cost nearly $600K in ground transportation fees |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/pence-s-doonbeg-detour-cost-nearly-600k-ground-transportation-fees-n1052401 |url-status=live |work=NBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214180903/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/pence-s-doonbeg-detour-cost-nearly-600k-ground-transportation-fees-n1052401 |archive-date=February 14, 2020 |access-date=July 23, 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Honl-Stuenkel |first=Linnaea |date=September 10, 2019 |title=Mike Pence's Doonbeg Detour to Cost Nearly $600k—CREW |url=https://www.citizensforethics.org/mike-pence-doonbeg-cost-nearly-600k/ |url-status=live |work=Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615165031/https://www.citizensforethics.org/mike-pence-doonbeg-cost-nearly-600k/ |archive-date=June 15, 2020 |access-date=July 23, 2020 }}

In February 2020, Pence defended debt- and deficit-spending as a measure to stimulate economic growth.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/pence-defends-deficit-expansion-under-trump-as-necessary-for-growth.html|title=Vice President Pence defends deficit expansion under Trump as necessary for economic growth|last=Breuninger|first=Kevin|date=February 7, 2020|website=CNBC|language=en|access-date=March 15, 2020|archive-date=February 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227003725/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/pence-defends-deficit-expansion-under-trump-as-necessary-for-growth.html|url-status=live}}

In May 2017, Pence filed Federal Election Commission paperwork to form Great America Committee, a political action committee (PAC) that would be headed by his former campaign staffers Nick Ayers and Marty Obst.{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/pence-creates-pac-ahead-2018-2020-elections-n761436 |title=Pence Creates PAC Ahead of 2018, 2020 Elections |last=Hillyard |first=Vaughn |date=May 18, 2017 |work=NBC News |access-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518125918/http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/pence-creates-pac-ahead-2018-2020-elections-n761436 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00640664/1162693/ |title=FILING FEC-1162693 |author= |date=May 17, 2017 |website=docquery.fec.gov |publisher=Federal Election Commission |access-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518134354/http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00640664/1162693/ |url-status=live }} Pence is the only vice president to have started his own PAC while still in office.{{cite magazine |last=Zorthian |first=Julia |url=https://time.com/4784340/mike-pence-creates-pac/ |title=Vice President Mike Pence Just Created His Own PAC |magazine=Time |date=May 18, 2017 |access-date=August 8, 2017 |archive-date=August 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804230457/http://time.com/4784340/mike-pence-creates-pac/ |url-status=live }} Pence denied a New York Times article's allegations that he would run for president in 2020, calling them "laughable and absurd", and said the article was "disgraceful and offensive".{{cite news |last=Shugerman |first=Emily |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mike-pence-vice-president-run-in-2022-disgraceful-and-offensive-a7879686.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220514/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mike-pence-vice-president-run-in-2022-disgraceful-and-offensive-a7879686.html |archive-date=May 14, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Vice President Mike Pence calls claims he will run in 2020 'disgraceful and offensive' |newspaper=The Independent |date=August 6, 2017 |access-date=August 8, 2017 }}

Pence was a key player in the Trump–Ukraine scandal and the Trump impeachment inquiry. Pence had at least two phone conversations and an in-person meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine. Pence met with Zelensky in Poland on September 1, 2019, during an unexpected delay in U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Pence later told the press that he did not mention 2020 presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden to Zelensky, but raised issues regarding Ukrainian corruption.{{cite news |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |title=Trump and Ukraine: A Guide to the Key Players |date=October 8, 2019 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-and-ukraine-a-guide-to-the-key-players-11570549980?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=12 |access-date=November 18, 2019 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804044643/https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-and-ukraine-a-guide-to-the-key-players-11570549980?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=12 |url-status=live }}

After the inquiry was opened, Pence publicly stated his support of Trump's call for foreign investigation into Joe Biden and his son Hunter, saying, "I think the American people have a right to know if the vice president of the United States or his family profited from his position."{{Cite news|last=Lejeune|first=Tristan|date=October 3, 2019|title=Pence defends Trump's calls for Ukraine to investigate Biden|work=The Hill|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/464246-pence-defends-trumps-calls-for-ukraine-to-investigate-biden/|access-date=January 1, 2020}} On October 3, Pence stated, "My predecessor had a son who was paid $50,000 a month to be on a Ukrainian board at the time that Vice President Biden was leading the Obama administration's efforts in Ukraine, I think [that] is worth looking into."{{cite news |title=Pence says Biden, son should be investigated for Ukraine dealings |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-whistleblower-pence/pence-says-biden-son-should-be-investigated-for-ukraine-dealings-idUSKBN1WI232 |work=Reuters |date=October 3, 2019 |access-date=October 5, 2019 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112023329/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-whistleblower-pence/pence-says-biden-son-should-be-investigated-for-ukraine-dealings-idUSKBN1WI232 |url-status=live }}

Pence defended Trump's decision in January 2020 to assassinate the Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qasem Soleimani, promoting conspiracy theories that supposedly linked the al-Qaeda attacks on the United States to Iran. In a series of tweets, the vice president termed Soleimani "an evil man who was responsible for killing thousands of Americans". Pence insisted Soleimani had "assisted in the clandestine travel to Afghanistan of 10 of the 12 terrorists who carried out the September 11 terrorist attacks", which critics said was his confusing the number of 9/11 hijackers (actually 19) and insinuating (without evidence) that the general was involved. Many experts responded that Pence's claims were unsubstantiated.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/03/mike-pence-iran-911-suleimani |title=Mike Pence pushes 9/11 conspiracy theories to justify Suleimani killing |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Maanvi |last=Singh |date=January 3, 2020 |access-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104022100/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/03/mike-pence-iran-911-suleimani |url-status=live }} Pence's spokeswoman Katie Waldman said that the dozen terrorists Pence referred to were those who had traveled through Afghanistan, ten of whom "were assisted by Soleimani".{{cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/pences-linkage-of-soleimani-to-9-11-hijackers-is-challenged/ |title=Pence's linkage of Soleimani to 9/11 hijackers is challenged |agency=AFP |date=January 4, 2020 |website=Times of Israel |access-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-date=January 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105032340/https://www.timesofisrael.com/pences-linkage-of-soleimani-to-9-11-hijackers-is-challenged/ |url-status=live }}

{{stack|File:Coronavirus Task Force Press Briefing (49614882048).jpg brief the media in March 2020.]]}}

On February 26, 2020, President Trump named Pence as the leader of the White House Coronavirus Task Force to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.{{cite web |author1=Cancryn, Adam |author2=Forgey, Quint |author3=Diamond, Dan |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/27/white-house-coronavirus-response-debbie-birx-117893 |title=After fumbled messaging, Trump gets a coronavirus czar by another name |work=Politico |date=February 27, 2020 |access-date=March 1, 2020 |archive-date=February 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229222027/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/27/white-house-coronavirus-response-debbie-birx-117893 |url-status=live }} Various public health officials and members of Congress had suggested the selection of a "Coronavirus Czar", though Trump said that would not be the title's name.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/02/26/809726490/trump-white-house-resists-calls-to-appoint-a-coronavirus-czar|title=Trump White House Resists Calls To Appoint A Coronavirus Czar|website=NPR.org|date=February 26, 2020|language=en|access-date=February 27, 2020|last1=Welna|first1=David|archive-date=February 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226232829/https://www.npr.org/2020/02/26/809726490/trump-white-house-resists-calls-to-appoint-a-coronavirus-czar|url-status=live}} As the leader of the task force, Pence coordinated efforts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Department of Homeland Security, and White House Office.{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/26/trump-puts-pence-in-charge-of-coronavirus-response-117790|title=Trump puts Pence in charge of coronavirus response|last=Choi|first=Matthew|website=Politico|date=February 26, 2020|language=en|access-date=February 27, 2020|archive-date=February 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227012708/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/26/trump-puts-pence-in-charge-of-coronavirus-response-117790|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Holpuch|first=Amanda|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/26/coronavirus-donald-trump-us-response|title=Donald Trump puts Mike Pence in charge of US coronavirus response|date=February 27, 2020|work=The Guardian|access-date=February 27, 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=February 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226140844/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/26/coronavirus-donald-trump-us-response|url-status=live}}

In April 2020, Pence exempted himself from the Mayo Clinic's policy of wearing a face mask in the hospital during a visit. Pence defended his action, saying he needed to look staff "in the eye".{{Cite web|title=Leaving Off Mask At Mayo Clinic, Pence Said He Wanted To Look Workers 'In The Eye'|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/28/847570879/pence-responds-to-critics-after-not-wearing-face-mask-at-mayo-clinic|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=May 16, 2020|first=Alana|last=Wise|date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009093042/https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/28/847570879/pence-responds-to-critics-after-not-wearing-face-mask-at-mayo-clinic|url-status=live}} The next day, the vice president's opponents criticized him for promoting "completely irresponsible public health messaging".{{Cite web|title=Pence forgoes a face mask at Mayo Clinic, appearing to violate policy|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-pence-face-mask-mayo-clinic-visit/|access-date=June 8, 2020|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=April 29, 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608020517/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-pence-face-mask-mayo-clinic-visit/|url-status=live}} Later, Pence acknowledged he should have worn a mask during the hospital visit, and did so two days later when visiting a ventilator production facility.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/03/coronavirus-mike-pence-mask-mayo-clinic/3075946001/ |title=Vice President Mike Pence on Mayo Clinic visit: 'I should have worn a mask' |newspaper=USA Today |date=May 3, 2020 |first=Michael |last=Collins |access-date=May 16, 2020 |archive-date=May 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516185200/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/03/coronavirus-mike-pence-mask-mayo-clinic/3075946001/ |url-status=live }}

In late June 2020, as coronavirus cases were spiking, Pence gave an optimistic press briefing where he made several misleading and false claims about the state of the coronavirus pandemic.{{Cite web|last=Dale|first=Analysis by Daniel|title=Fact check: As pandemic situation worsens, Pence paints a deceptively rosy picture|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/26/politics/fact-check-pence-briefing-coronavirus-june/index.html|access-date=July 14, 2020|website=CNN|date=June 26, 2020|archive-date=July 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712075345/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/26/politics/fact-check-pence-briefing-coronavirus-june/index.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Qiu|first=Linda|date=June 26, 2020|title=As Cases Surge, Pence Misleads on Coronavirus Pandemic|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/coronavirus-pence-fact-check.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626235006/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/coronavirus-pence-fact-check.html |archive-date=June 26, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=July 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} He misleadingly argued that surges in cases were the result of increased testing, telling reporters that increases in new cases were "a reflection of a great success in expanding testing across the country". However, health experts noted that case growth outpaced the number of tests, and that the share of positive tests was increasing.{{Cite web|last=Oprysko|first=Caitlin|title=Texas, Florida governors order bars closed, impose new restrictions as cases surge|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/26/austin-texas-mayor-steve-adler-coronavirus-341016|access-date=July 14, 2020|website=Politico|date=June 26, 2020|language=en|archive-date=July 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712164736/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/26/austin-texas-mayor-steve-adler-coronavirus-341016|url-status=live}} Pence also falsely claimed that coronavirus fatalities were declining all across the country (Statistics here), that the curve had been flattened, and that all 50 states were opening up. In private meetings with Republican senators, Pence urged them to focus on "encouraging signs". Pence told the senators that cases were increasing in only 3% of counties and 12 states; however, data at the time showed that cases were increasing in at least 5% of counties and in at least 20 states.{{Cite news |date=2020 |title=Pence tries to assure GOP senators as coronavirus cases spike |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/06/24/pence-coronavirus-spike-senate/ |access-date=July 14, 2020 |archive-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210175236/https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/06/24/pence-coronavirus-spike-senate/ |url-status=live }} On December 18, the Pences received the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, in front of a live audience at a televised event to show Americans that the vaccine is safe and effective.{{Cite web|first1=Maegan|last1=Vazquez|first2=Betsy|last2=Klein|title=Pence receives coronavirus vaccine Friday morning|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/18/politics/mike-pence-coronavirus-vaccination/index.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|website=CNN|date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=December 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218113628/https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/18/politics/mike-pence-coronavirus-vaccination/index.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title='I Didn't Feel A Thing:' Pence Gets Coronavirus Vaccine In Public Event |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/12/18/947744956/i-didnt-feel-a-thing-pence-gets-coronavirus-vaccine-in-public-event |website=NPR.org |access-date=December 18, 2020 |language=en |date=December 18, 2020 |quote=Vice President Pence, Karen Pence, and Surgeon General Jerome Adams received a coronavirus vaccine on Friday at the White House in a televised event aimed at showing the vaccine is safe and effective. |archive-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218222519/https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/12/18/947744956/i-didnt-feel-a-thing-pence-gets-coronavirus-vaccine-in-public-event |url-status=live }}{{cite AV media |date=December 18, 2020 |title=Pence receives Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine |medium=Video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCiU2KAuNgQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/cCiU2KAuNgQ |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live|newspaper=Washington Post on YouTube }}{{cbignore}}

As President of the Senate, Pence cast several tie-breaking votes in order to pass legislation and confirm presidential appointments.

{{See also|Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign|2020 United States presidential election}}

Ahead of his presidential campaign on February 28, 2019, Joe Biden referred to Pence as a "decent guy" in a speech in Omaha, Nebraska, when making an anecdote about an audience falling silent after Pence mentioned Trump's name. Biden later faced criticism for his complimentary remarks due to Pence's alleged anti-LGBT positions, which Biden would later apologize for and clarify by saying, "I was making a point in a foreign policy context, that under normal circumstances a Vice President wouldn't be given a silent reaction on the world stage." Biden had previously referred to Pence as a "decent guy" in 2018, and Pence and Biden exchanged conversations via phone before Pence's 2017 transition into the vice presidency.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/28/politics/joe-biden-mike-pence-decent-guy-criticize-respond/index.html|title=Joe Biden responds to criticism after calling Pence a 'decent guy'|first=Arlette|last=Saenz|website=CNN|date=March 1, 2019|access-date=July 4, 2020|archive-date=June 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613150059/https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/28/politics/joe-biden-mike-pence-decent-guy-criticize-respond/index.html|url-status=dead}}

In June 2019, the Democratic former New York City Council president Andrew Stein opined that Trump could improve his re-election chances by replacing Pence as his running mate with former South Carolina governor and former United States ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.{{cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-haley-in-2020-11561316951 |title=Trump-Haley in 2020 |work=The Wall Street Journal |first=Andrew |last=Stein |date=June 23, 2019 |access-date=July 12, 2019 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=July 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709221111/https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-haley-in-2020-11561316951 |url-status=live }} Despite that, Trump said Pence will be his running mate. He declined to endorse Pence should his running mate seek in 2024 to succeed him, but said he would give it "very strong consideration".{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/06/26/trump-says-mike-pence-will-be-running-mate/1570218001/ |title=Trump says Mike Pence is his 2020 running mate '100%,' dismisses idea of running with Nikki Haley |first=William |last=Cummings |work=USA Today |date=June 26, 2019 |access-date=July 12, 2019 |archive-date=July 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713025530/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/06/26/trump-says-mike-pence-will-be-running-mate/1570218001/ |url-status=live }}

In remarks about law enforcement during the 2020 Republican convention, Pence said a federal security officer, Dave Underwood, "was shot and killed during the riots in Oakland", implying he was killed by rioters, when instead a man linked to the far-right Boogaloo movement had exploited the unrest as a cover for murder.{{Cite web |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/protests/article_efa711fc-aa39-5983-841f-58bcfd04c753.amp.html |title=The Buffalo News |first1= |last1= |date=August 31, 2020 |website=buffalonews.com |access-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702232912/https://buffalonews.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/protests/article_efa711fc-aa39-5983-841f-58bcfd04c753.amp.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://abc7news.com/6391139/ |title=RNC 2020: Mike Pence's comments on killing of Oakland federal officer David Patrick Underwood are misleading |first1=Liz |last1=Kreutz |first2=Melanie |last2=Woodrow |date=August 27, 2020 |website=ABC7 San Francisco |access-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126050404/https://abc7news.com/6391139/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.fox6now.com/news/pence-blurs-details-about-killing-of-oakland-federal-officer-by-alleged-right-wing-extremist|title=Pence blurs details about killing of Oakland federal officer by alleged right-wing extremist|date=August 27, 2020|website=KTVU FOX 2|access-date=September 1, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107224842/https://www.fox6now.com/news/pence-blurs-details-about-killing-of-oakland-federal-officer-by-alleged-right-wing-extremist|url-status=live}}

On October 7, 2020, Pence participated in a debate with Kamala Harris that was held by USA Today in Salt Lake City, Utah, and moderated by Susan Page, the Washington bureau chief of the newspaper. The debate was held with adaptations designed to avoid contagion of the COVID-19 virus given that the vice president had been in close contact with people who had been infected at a recent event at the White House. Plexiglas partitions separated the candidates and masks were required for all attending except the candidates and moderator.{{Cite web|last=Moniuszko|first=Sara M.|date=October 8, 2020|title=Following backlash, Karen Pence's team says 'both sides agreed' spouses would remove masks|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/10/08/vp-debate-karen-pence-didnt-wear-face-mask-despite-rules/5920817002/|access-date=October 11, 2020|website=USA Today|language=en-US|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010150107/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/10/08/vp-debate-karen-pence-didnt-wear-face-mask-despite-rules/5920817002/|url-status=live}}{{efn|At the end of the debate, Second Lady Karen Pence was seen onstage without a mask, which her spokesperson said was on the basis of an agreement with Harris's husband, Douglas Emhoff, who ended up wearing his mask onstage.}} By some estimates, Pence interrupted Harris twice as much as she interrupted him.{{cite news |last1=Cheung |first1=Helier |title=VP debate: Did gender play a role in the interruptions? |work=BBC News |date=October 8, 2020 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54467093 |access-date=October 11, 2020 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117190439/https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54467093 |url-status=live }} Media outlets noted that near the end of the debate, a fly landed on Pence's head for almost two minutes.{{Cite web |last=Stieb |first=Matt |date=October 7, 2020 |title=Mike Pence Had a Fly on His Head for Almost Two Minutes During the VP Debate |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/fly-on-mike-pence-for-2-minutes-in-vice-presidential-debate.html |access-date=October 11, 2020 |website=New York Intelligencer |language=en-us |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028152144/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/fly-on-mike-pence-for-2-minutes-in-vice-presidential-debate.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|last=O'Kane|first=Caitlin|date=October 8, 2020|title=A fly landed on Mike Pence's head during the debate and rested there for nearly two minutes|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fly-landed-pence-head-vp-debate/|access-date=October 11, 2020|website=CBS News|language=en-US|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010133228/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fly-landed-pence-head-vp-debate/|url-status=live}} A CNN poll found that 59% of registered voters felt that Harris had won the debate, while 38% felt that Pence had.

On November 7, 2020, after several days of vote counting, Biden and Harris were declared by most major news networks to be the winners of the election.{{Cite web|title=Biden defeats Trump to win White House, NBC News projects|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-defeats-trump-win-white-house-nbc-news-projects-n1246912|access-date=November 8, 2020|website=NBC News|date=November 8, 2020|language=en|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114193707/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-defeats-trump-win-white-house-nbc-news-projects-n1246912|url-status=live}} On December 14 the Electoral College confirmed the win, giving the Biden-Harris campaign 306 votes compared to 232 for the Trump–Pence campaign;{{cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-12-14/electors-meeting-to-formally-choose-biden-as-next-president|title=Electoral College Makes It Official: Biden Won, Trump Lost|date=December 14, 2020|work=U.S. News & World Report|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=January 6, 2021|archive-date=January 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108102621/https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-12-14/electors-meeting-to-formally-choose-biden-as-next-president|url-status=live}} however, Trump refused to concede and insisted that he had actually won. Throughout November and December Trump and his campaign filed more than 50 lawsuits alleging election fraud and other irregularities; all of them were eventually rejected by judges.{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-losing-election-lawsuits-36d113484ac0946fa5f0614deb7de15e|title=Trump loves to win but keeps losing election lawsuits|last=Richer|first=Alanna Durkin|date=December 4, 2020|work=AP News|access-date=January 6, 2021|archive-date=December 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222013329/https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-losing-election-lawsuits-36d113484ac0946fa5f0614deb7de15e|url-status=live}}

Trump also pressured Republican officials, lawmakers and even the Justice Department to take actions to overturn the election.{{cite news |last1=Kumar |first1=Anita |last2=Orr |first2=Gabby |last3=McGraw |first3=Meridith |title=Inside Trump's pressure campaign to overturn the election |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/21/trump-pressure-campaign-overturn-election-449486 |access-date=December 22, 2020 |work=Politico |date=December 21, 2020 |archive-date=December 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222010353/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/21/trump-pressure-campaign-overturn-election-449486 |url-status=live }}

In late December 2020, a federal lawsuit was filed against Pence by Republican congressman Louie Gohmert and 11 Arizona Republicans who would have become presidential electors had Trump actually won Arizona. The plaintiffs sought to give the vice president the power to reject state certified presidential electors in favour of "competing slates of electors" so that Biden's victory over Trump could be overturned.{{cite news |last1=Larson |first1=Erik |title=Pence Sued by GOP Congressman Over Competing Electors |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-28/pence-sued-by-gop-congressman-in-fight-over-competing-electors |access-date=January 3, 2021 |work=Bloomberg News |date=December 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230053614/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-28/pence-sued-by-gop-congressman-in-fight-over-competing-electors |archive-date=December 30, 2020 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|title=Pence asks judge to reject Gohmert lawsuit asking the VP to interfere in the Electoral College count|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/31/politics/pence-gohmert-electoral-college-lawsuit/index.html|website=CNN|access-date=January 2, 2021|date=January 1, 2021|last1=Berman|first1=Dan|archive-date=January 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101010822/https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/31/politics/pence-gohmert-electoral-college-lawsuit/index.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Cheney |first1=Kyle |last2=Gerstein |first2=Josh |title=Pence: Gohmert's fight to overturn the 2020 election results is with Congress, not me |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/31/pence-overturn-election-results-lawsuit-453207 |website=Politico |access-date=January 2, 2021 |date=December 31, 2020 |archive-date=December 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231234423/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/31/pence-overturn-election-results-lawsuit-453207 |url-status=live }} The United States Department of Justice represented Pence in this case, and argued for its dismissal, stating that the lawsuit was a "walking legal contradiction" because it sought to grant power to the vice president, while suing the vice president. Within a week, the lawsuit was dismissed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and the appeal was rejected by a United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit panel, both due to the plaintiffs' lack of standing.{{cite web |last1=Gerstein |first1=Josh |last2=Cheney |first2=Kyle |title=Judge throws out Gohmert suit aimed at empowering Pence to overturn 2020 election results |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/01/louie-gohmert-lawsuit-pence-453387 |website=Politico |access-date=January 3, 2021 |date=January 2, 2021 |archive-date=January 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104171404/https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/01/louie-gohmert-lawsuit-pence-453387 |url-status=live }} Gohmert then appealed to the Supreme Court, which on January{{spaces}}7 tersely "denied" his petition.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Stewart |title=SCOTUS rejects Gohmert's last-minute appeal |url=https://www.kltv.com/2021/01/07/scotus-rejects-gohmerts-last-minute-appeal/ |access-date=January 9, 2021 |work=KLTV |date=January 7, 2021 |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115180244/https://www.kltv.com/2021/01/07/scotus-rejects-gohmerts-last-minute-appeal/ |url-status=live }}

{{main|January 6 United States Capitol attack}}

In January 2021, Trump began to pressure Pence to take action to overturn the election. On January 5, after Vice President Mike Pence refused to participate in the fake electors plot, Trump warned that he would have to publicly criticize him. This prompted Pence's chief of staff to become concerned for Pence's safety and to alert Pence's Secret Service detail to the perceived threat.{{cite news |first=Margaret |last=Brennan |access-date=5 January 2024 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marc-short-alerted-secret-service-pence-risk-before-jan-6/ |title=Pence chief of staff alerted Secret Service of risk to Pence on eve of Jan. 6 |date=June 3, 2022 |website=CBS News |archive-date=August 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826042335/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marc-short-alerted-secret-service-pence-risk-before-jan-6/ |url-status=live }} At 3:23{{nbsp}}a.m. on the morning of January 6, QAnon leader Ron Watkins posted a tweet accusing Pence of orchestrating a coup against Trump and linked to a blog post which called for "the immediate arrest of [Pence], for treason".{{Cite episode |title=The Storm |series=Q: Into the Storm |series-link=Q Into the Storm |network=HBO |date=April 4, 2021 |number=6 |last=Hoback |first=Cullen |author-link=Cullen Hoback |time=48:30–50:00}}{{#invoke:cite web||last=Gilbert|first=David|date=January 6, 2021|title=QAnon Supporters Are Calling for Violence at Pro-Trump Protests|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkdqq7/qanon-supporters-are-calling-for-violence-at-pro-trump-protests|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=Vice|language=en}}{{cite tweet |first=Ron |last=Watkins |user=CodeMonkeyZ |number=1346779489645121536 |title='Rosenstein, together with Pence's knowledge and consent, went on to help engineer the entire coup attempt against President Trump [...] and promote Pence to the Presidency, at which point, Pence would turn around and appoint Rod Rosenstein as VP.' |date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107042732/https://twitter.com/CodeMonkeyZ/status/1346779489645121536 |url-status=live |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |access-date=5 January 2024}} Encouraged by Trump,{{cite news |last1=Barry |first1=Dan |last2=Frenkel |first2=Sheera |date=January 7, 2021 |title='Be There. Will Be Wild!': Trump All but Circled the Date |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/capitol-mob-trump-supporters.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107035158/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/capitol-mob-trump-supporters.html |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |url-access=registration |access-date=January 9, 2021}}{{cite news |last=Snodgrass |first=Erin |title=A timeline of Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/a-timeline-of-trumps-efforts-to-overturn-the-2020-election-2021-10 |date=October 7, 2021 |work=Business Insider |access-date=October 8, 2021 |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026110252/https://www.businessinsider.com/a-timeline-of-trumps-efforts-to-overturn-the-2020-election-2021-10 |url-status=live}} on January{{spaces}}5 and{{spaces}}6, thousands of his supporters gathered in Washington, D.C., to support his false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen.

As vice president, Pence presided over the January 6, 2021, congressional joint session to count the electoral votes—normally a non-controversial, ceremonial event. In the days leading up to the session, Trump declared both in public and in private that Pence should use that position to overturn the election results in swing states and declare Trump–Pence the winners of the election.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/us/politics/pence-trump-election.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/us/politics/pence-trump-election.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|title=Trump Says Pence Can Overturn His Loss in Congress. That's Not How It Works.|last=Schmidt|first=Michael S.|date=January 5, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 6, 2021}}{{cbignore}} Pence demurred that the United States Constitution did not give him that power, but Trump falsely insisted that "The Vice President and I are in total agreement that the Vice President has the power to act."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/us/politics/pence-trump-election-results.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/us/politics/pence-trump-election-results.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited |title=Pence Said to Have Told Trump He Lacks Power to Change Election Result |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie|last2=Karni|first2=Annie|date=January 5, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 6, 2021}}{{cbignore}}

According to The New York Times, multiple sources claim that Trump called Pence before he departed to certify the results urging him again one last time ultimately telling him, "You can either go down in history as a patriot, or you can go down in history as a pussy."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/us/politics/mike-pence-trump.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/us/politics/mike-pence-trump.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited |title= Pence Reached His Limit With Trump. It Wasn't Pretty.|website=The New York Times |date= January 13, 2021|access-date= February 7, 2021|last1= Baker|first1= Peter|last2= Haberman|first2= Maggie|last3= Karni|first3= Annie}}{{cbignore}}

Before the start of the Joint Session, Pence stated in a "Dear Colleague" letter that the Constitution prevented him from deciding which electoral votes counted and which did not.{{cite news |url=https://www.axios.com/trump-pence-electoral-college-fa6456c7-b143-4582-8d2d-da5a8b33e3ec.html |title=Pence says he lacks authority to throw out Electoral College votes |last=Rummler|first=Orion|date=January 6, 2020|work=Axios|access-date=January 6, 2021}} According to Politico, Pence was inspired by Al Gore presiding over his own defeat twenty years earlier during the 2000 presidential election, when Pence was a newly-elected member of Congress.{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/01/05/jan-6-mike-pence-al-gore-certification-00196119|title=20 Years Before Jan. 6, Al Gore Stood Up to His Own Party. Mike Pence Was Watching.|quote=The certification of the Electoral College was once seen as ceremonial. Two moments 20 years apart remind us how high the stakes really are.|website=Politico|access-date=January 5, 2025|date=January 5, 2025}}

On January 6, 2021, the day on which a joint session of Congress met to count and certify the results of the Electoral College for the 2020 presidential election, Trump held a rally at which he urged listeners to go to the Capitol and repeatedly expressed the hope that Pence would "do the right thing".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/us/trump-speech-riot.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/us/trump-speech-riot.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|title=Incitement to Riot? What Trump Told Supporters Before Mob Stormed Capitol |last=Savage|first=Charlie|date=January 10, 2021|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 15, 2021}}{{cbignore}} Many listeners then marched to the Capitol and stormed it. At 2:24, while Pence was in hiding in the Capitol, Trump tweeted that Pence "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done".{{cite news |last=Evon |first=Dan |date=January 9, 2021 |title=Was 'Hang Mike Pence' Chanted at Capitol Riot? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hang-mike-pence-chant-capitol-riot/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216132059/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hang-mike-pence-chant-capitol-riot/ |archive-date=February 16, 2021 |access-date=January 19, 2021 |website=Snopes}} Trump followers on far-right social media called for Pence to be hunted down, and the mob began chanting, "Where is Pence?" and "Find Mike Pence!"Multiple sources:

• {{cite news |last=Frenkel |first=Sheera |date=January 8, 2021 |title=The storming of Capitol Hill was organized on social media. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/protesters-storm-capitol-hill-building.html |url-status=live |url-access=registration |access-date=January 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106220539/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/protesters-storm-capitol-hill-building.html |archive-date=January 6, 2021}}
• {{cite news |last1=Fisher |first1=Marc |last2=Flynn |first2=Meagan |last3=Contrera |first3=Jessica |last4=Leonnig |first4=Carol D. |date=January 8, 2021 |title=The four-hour insurrection |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2021/politics/trump-insurrection-capitol/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113010357/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2021/politics/trump-insurrection-capitol/ |archive-date=January 13, 2021}}
• {{cite news |last=Barbaro |first=Michael |date=January 8, 2021 |title=How They Stormed Congress |work=The Daily (New York Times podcast) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/podcasts/the-daily/capitol-mob-police-social-media.html |url-status=live |access-date=January 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109162325/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/podcasts/the-daily/capitol-mob-police-social-media.html |archive-date=January 9, 2021}} Outside, the mob chanted, "Hang Mike Pence!", which some crowds continued to chant as they stormed the Capitol;{{cite news |last=Colvin |first=Jill |date=January 8, 2021 |title=Hurt feelings, anger linger after Pence, Trump clash |work=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/hurt-feelings-anger-linger-pence-trump-clash-75127167 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108174022/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/hurt-feelings-anger-linger-pence-trump-clash-75127167 |archive-date=January 8, 2021}} at least three rioters were overheard by a reporter as saying that they wanted to find Pence and execute him as a "traitor" by hanging him from a tree outside the building.{{cite news |last=Sheth |first=Sonam |date=January 8, 2021 |title=A Reuters photographer says he overheard pro-Trump insurrectionists saying they wanted to hang Mike Pence at the Capitol |work=Business Insider |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/reuters-photographer-says-pro-trump-rioters-wanted-to-hang-pence-2021-1 |url-status=live |access-date=January 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108204207/https://www.businessinsider.com/reuters-photographer-says-pro-trump-rioters-wanted-to-hang-pence-2021-1 |archive-date=January 8, 2021}} One official recalled that: "The members of the [Vice President's Secret Service detail] at this time were starting to fear for their own lives... they're screaming and saying things like 'say goodbye to the family'".{{#invoke:cite web||last=Bobic |first=Igor |date=2022-07-22 |title=Mike Pence's Security Detail Feared For Their Lives During January 6 Capitol Riot |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/january-6-mike-pence-secret-service_n_62d9f860e4b03dbb9916f641 |access-date=2022-07-22 |website=HuffPost|language=en}} Alerted by a staffer to the threat against Pence, Trump reportedly replied "So what?".{{cite news | first1=Graig| last1=Graziosi| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-reaction-mike-pence-danger-capitol-riot-b2623005.html | title='So what': Trump's alleged reaction to news that Mike Pence was in danger on Jan 6 | website=Independent.co.uk | date=October 3, 2024| access-date=8 February 2025 }} According to witnesses, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told coworkers that Trump complained about Pence being escorted to safety and then stated something suggesting that Pence should be hanged.{{cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |last2=Broadwater |first2=Luke |date=May 25, 2022 |title=Trump Said to Have Reacted Approvingly to Jan. 6 Chants About Hanging Pence |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/us/politics/trump-pence-jan-6.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525172027/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/us/politics/trump-pence-jan-6.html |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |quote=... told colleagues that President Donald J. Trump was complaining that the vice president was being whisked to safety. Mr. Meadows, according to an account provided to the House committee investigating Jan. 6, then told the colleagues that Mr. Trump had said something to the effect of, maybe Mr. Pence should be hanged. ... Another witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Mr. Meadows who was present in his office when he recounted Mr. Trump's remarks, was asked by the committee about the account and confirmed it, according to the people familiar with the panel's work.}}{{cite news |last1=Alemany |first1=Jacqueline |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh |title=Jan. 6 panel is told that Trump indicated support for hanging Pence during insurrection |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/25/jan-6-panel-is-told-that-trump-indicated-support-hanging-pence-during-insurrection/ |date=May 25, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 26, 2022}} Pence later argued that Trump's "reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day".{{cite news |first=Bethany |last=Dawson |date=March 12, 2023 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/mike-pence-scorches-trump-endangered-my-family-january-6-riots-2023-3 |title=Former VP Mike Pence accuses 'reckless' Donald Trump of endangering his family during the January 6 riots |website=Business Insider |access-date=8 January 2024 }}

File:210120-D-WD757-1401 (50861237886).jpg at the inauguration of Joe Biden.]]

On January 15, The Washington Post reported that Pence came "dangerously close" to the rioters during their occupation of the Capitol. Pence was not evacuated from the Senate chambers until 14 minutes after the initial breach of the Capitol was reported. He and his family were eventually ushered from the Senate chambers into a second-floor hideaway. One minute later, the mob rushed onto a stair landing only 100 feet away, from which they could have seen him enter the room if they had arrived a minute earlier.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pence-rioters-capitol-attack/2021/01/15/ab62e434-567c-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html|title=How the rioters who stormed the Capitol came dangerously close to Pence |last1=Parker|first1=Ashley|last2=Leonnig|first2=Carol D.|last3=Kane|first3=Paul|last4=Brown|first4=Emma|date=January 15, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 15, 2021}} After his evacuation from the Senate chambers, his Secret Service detail wanted to move him away from the Capitol building but he refused to get in the car.{{cite web | last=Blake | first=Aaron | title=Analysis – A top Democrat ties Pence's 'I'm not getting in the car' to Jan. 6 'coup' | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=April 26, 2022 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/26/pence-car-raskin-comments/ | access-date=October 16, 2022}} Pence later approved the deployment of the National Guard, which raised questions as the vice president is not the commander-in-chief.{{cite news |title=As the D.C. police clear the Capitol grounds, the mayor extends a public emergency. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/national-guard-capitol-army.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur |website=The New York Times |date = January 6, 2021|access-date=January 7, 2021|last1 = Cooper|first1 = Helene|last2 = Barnes|first2 = Julian E.|last3 = Schmitt|first3 = Eric|last4 = Martin|first4 = Jonathan|last5 = Haberman|first5 = Maggie|last6 = Ives|first6 = Mike}}{{Cite news |last1=Abbot |first1=Steve |last2=Chiarelli |first2=Peter |last3=Jumper |first3=John |last4=Loy |first4=James |last5=Nathman |first5=John |last6=Owens |first6=William |last7=Wilson |first7=Johnnie |date=July 21, 2022 |title=Opinion {{!}} We Are Retired Generals and Admirals. Trump's Actions on Jan 6 Were a Dereliction of Duty. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/opinion/january-6-trump-military.html |access-date=July 23, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} After the Capitol was cleared, Congress resumed its joint session, and officially certified the election results with Pence declaring Biden and Harris the winners.{{Cite web |last=Cannon |first=Jay |title=Watch VP Pence confirm 2020 election win for Joe Biden hours after mob breaches Capitol |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/07/watch-pence-certify-biden-harris-election-results-after-capitol-riot/6578507002/ |access-date=January 8, 2021 |website=USA Today |language=en-US}}

During the siege, Trump criticized Pence as lacking "courage".{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/532942-trump-attacks-pence-as-protesters-force-their-way-into-capitol/|title=Trump attacks Pence as protesters force their way into Capitol|last=Samuels|first=Brett|date=January 6, 2021|work=The Hill|access-date=January 8, 2021}} Earlier L. Lin Wood, a lawyer associated with Trump, had called for Pence to be "executed" by "firing squad".{{cite news|last1=Rawnsley|first1=Adam|date=January 1, 2021 |title=Trump Team Backs Away From Lin Wood After Pence Tweets|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-team-runs-away-from-lin-wood-after-pence-tweets|access-date=January 2, 2021}}{{Cite web |last1=Brewster|first1=Jack|date=January 7, 2021|title=Lin Wood—Lawyer Closely Tied To Trump—Permanently Banned From Twitter After Claiming Capitol Siege Was 'Staged' |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2021/01/07/lin-wood-lawyer-closely-tied-to-trump-permanently-banned-from-twitter-after-claiming-capitol-siege-was-staged/?sh=37a5c11c1be3|access-date=January 8, 2021|work=Forbes}} In spite of the threats against Pence, Trump never reached out to Pence or inquired about his safety during the attack on the Capitol, according to sources close to the vice president.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/pence-attend-biden-inauguration-n1253645|title=Pence to attend Biden inauguration; Trump never called him in the Capitol bunker, sources say |last1=Welker|first1=Kristin|last2=O'Donnell|first2=Kelly|last3=Alba|first3=Monica|date=January 9, 2021|work=NBC News|access-date=January 10, 2021}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/protesters-storm-capitol-hill-building.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106220059/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/protesters-storm-capitol-hill-building.html |archive-date=January 6, 2021 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The storming of Capitol Hill was organized on social media. |last=Frenkel|first=Sheera |date=January 6, 2021|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 10, 2021}} Aides believed that Pence was being set up as a scapegoat for Trump's failure to overturn the results of the election.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/politics/trump-pence-riot/index.html|title=Trump pressured Pence to engineer a coup, then put the VP in danger, source says|last=Acosta|first=JIm|date=January 7, 2021|work=CNN|access-date=January 10, 2021}} Pence was described as very angry with Trump.{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/politics/trump-pence-riot/index.html|title=Trump pressured Pence to engineer a coup, then put the VP in danger, source says |last1=Acosta|first1=Jim|last2=Brown|first2=Pamela|date=January 7, 2021|work=CNN|access-date=January 10, 2021}} The two did not speak for several days, until January 11 when they met at the White House to discuss the prior week's Capitol siege and the final days of their administration.{{cite news |url=https://wtmj.com/national/2021/01/11/after-frosty-few-days-pence-trump-appear-to-reach-detente/ |title=After frosty few days, Pence, Trump appear to reach détente |date=January 11, 2021 |publisher=WTMJ |agency=Associated Press |first1=Jill |last1=Colvin |first2=Zeke |last2=Miller |access-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115184536/https://wtmj.com/national/2021/01/11/after-frosty-few-days-pence-trump-appear-to-reach-detente/ |url-status=dead }}

On January 20, Pence attended the inauguration of Joe Biden as president of the United States, unlike Trump. Afterwards, he left the Capitol with his successor, Kamala Harris.{{cite news |last1=Gold |first1=Michael |date=January 20, 2021 |title=Harris escorted Pence to his motorcade, a symbol of a peaceful transfer of power. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/kamala-harris-mike-pence-inauguration.html |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=1553-8095 |oclc=1645522 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201142935/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/kamala-harris-mike-pence-inauguration.html |archive-date=February 1, 2021 |access-date=June 3, 2021}}

{{main|Mike Pence 2024 presidential campaign}}

File:Mike Pence (53028248576).jpg

On June 5, 2023, Pence filed paperwork and officially launched his bid for the presidency.{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/pence-trump-president-2024-campaign-19ee44bb97c7c3131631077917056446|title=Former Vice President Pence files paperwork launching 2024 presidential bid in challenge to Trump

|date=June 5, 2023|accessdate=June 5, 2023|author=Jill Colvin|work=Associated Press}} In July, Pence became the first 2024 Republican presidential candidate to visit Ukraine, where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/29/pence-ukraine-zelensky/ |url-access=subscription |last=LeVine |first=Marianne |title=Mike Pence makes surprise trip to Ukraine |date=June 29, 2023 |access-date=June 30, 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630234029/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/29/pence-ukraine-zelensky/ |archive-date=June 30, 2023}}

On October 28, 2023, Pence, who had weak fundraising and poll numbers, withdrew from the race.{{cite web |last=Holmes |first=Kristen |date=October 28, 2023 |title=Pence suspends campaign for president |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/28/politics/pence-suspends-campaign-for-president |access-date=October 28, 2023 |newspaper=CNN}} Much of his campaigning had taken place in Iowa.{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/28/pence-suspends-presidential-campaign-00124097|title=Pence suspends presidential campaign|last1=Isenstadt|first1=Alex|last2=Ward|first2=Myah|date=October 28, 2023|accessdate=October 28, 2023|work=Politico}} On March 15, 2024, Pence announced that he would not endorse Trump, nor would he support Biden in the 2024 presidential election.{{cite news|first1=Patrick|last1=Svitek|first2=Marianne|last2=LeVine|accessdate=March 22, 2024|title=Mike Pence says he will not endorse Donald Trump for president in 2024|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/15/pence-trump-no-endorsement-2024/|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 15, 2024|issn=0190-8286|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}{{cite web|first1=Christina|last1=Wilkie|accessdate=March 22, 2024|title=Former Vice President Mike Pence will not endorse Trump in 2024|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/15/former-vice-president-mike-pence-will-not-endorse-trump-for-president.html|date=March 15, 2024|website=CNBC}}{{Cite web|title=Trump ran him out of MAGA. But Mike Pence still wants in the GOP.|date=June 7, 2024|access-date=June 23, 2024|website=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/us/politics/donald-trump-mike-pence-campaign-2024.html|first1=Adam|last1=Adam Nagourney}} Pence did not attend the 2024 Republican National Convention.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/16/us/politics/rnc-bush-quayle-pence-cheney-romney.html|title=Guess Who's Not Coming to Milwaukee? Bush, Quayle, Pence, Cheney or Romney|date=July 16, 2024|website=The New York Times|first1=Adam|last1=Nagourney}} On August 9, 2024, Pence reiterated that he would not endorse Trump, nor would he support Kamala Harris after Biden withdrew from the race.{{Cite web|title=Pence says he's 'staying out of the presidential campaign'|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4820988-mike-pence-donald-trump-kamala-harris-2024-presidential-race/|first1=Brett|last1=Samuels|date=August 9, 2024|website=The Hill}}{{Cite web |last=Leary |first=Alex |title=Pence Refuses to Endorse Trump, Deepening Split Between Former Running Mates |url=https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/pence-wont-endorse-trump-deepening-split-between-former-running-mates-87a77c6c |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}

• First presidency of Donald Trump
• Electoral history of Mike Pence
• Political positions of Mike Pence

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Pence, Mike