Here's What Mike Pence Said to Donald Trump at Jimmy Carter's Funeral
Mike Pence spoke to President-elect Donald Trump at Jimmy Carter‘s funeral after not speaking for the past four years.
The 65-year-old former vice president and the 78-year-old President-elect of the United States were both in attendance at the state funeral for the former President on Thursday (January 9) in Washington, D.C., in their first reunion since 2021.
When Trump and his wife Melania arrived, Pence stood up from the row behind and extended his hand to Trump for a handshake. They also spoke a few words briefly.
In an interview with Christianity Today, Pence revealed what he said.
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“He greeted me when he came down the aisle. I stood up, extended my hand. He shook my hand. I said, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President,’ and he said, ‘Thanks, Mike,’” Pence recalled.
Pence also addressed his wife Karen seemingly staring ahead and declining to acknowledge Trump and Melania.
“You’d have to ask my wife about her posture, but we’ve been married 44 years, and she loves her husband, and her husband respects her deeply,” he explained.
“The opportunity to speak to the president yesterday is something that I appreciated, I welcomed,” he said. “I’ve really been blessed at how much I’ve heard from people around the country who saw [our] handshake, and in that handshake, saw some hope that we might be moving past those difficult days. That’s certainly my hope.”
The two have had a longstanding rift ever since the Jan 6. Capitol riots in 2021. In later years, Pence said that “[Trump’s] reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day.”
Find out why Michelle Obama was not in attendance.