Former Vice President Mike Pence said he congratulated President-elect Trump on his upcoming return to the White House when the two shared a brief greeting at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service on Thursday.
“He greeted me when he came down the aisle. I stood up, extended my hand. He shook my hand. I said, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President,’ and he said, ‘Thanks, Mike,’” Pence said in an interview with Christianity Today.
The funeral in Washington, D.C., was the first time Trump and Pence were in the same room since the end of their administration in January 2021.
When Pence and Trump shook hands and exchanged a few words, former second lady Karen Pence remained seated and did not interact with Trump or incoming first lady Melania Trump.
The former vice president acknowledged her refusing to acknowledge Trump.
“You’d have to ask my wife about her posture, but we’ve been married 44 years, and she loves her husband, and her husband respects her deeply,” Pence said to Christianity Today.
The Pences were seated a row behind Trump with the other vice presidents, while Trump sat next to former President Obama.
“Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that God put me on one of these rows,” Pence said in the interview.
He also said he has “really been blessed at how much I’ve heard from people” who saw his handshake with Trump as a sign of hope that they can move past their issues.
“That’s certainly my hope,” Pence said.
The relationship between the two men fractured because of Trump’s pressure campaign on Pence to object to President Biden’s win in 2020 during the certification on Jan. 6, 2021.
Pence refused, insisting he did not have the authority to do so, even as rioters stormed the Capitol threatening his life.
Pence briefly ran against Trump during the 2024 GOP primary before bowing out. He then said he would not be endorsing his former boss.
