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Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump.
- Charlotte Pence Bond
Charlotte Pence Bond (born Charlotte Rose Pence; June 25,...
- Greg Pence
A member of the Republican Party, he is the older brother of...
- Karen Pence
Karen Sue Pence (née Batten, formerly Whitaker; born January...
- Political Positions of Mike Pence
On January 27, 2017, Pence spoke at the March for Life in...
- Bundle Branch Block
The heart's electrical activity begins in the sinoatrial...
- Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis
Mike Pence (Law 1986), 48th Vice President of the United...
- Electoral History of Mike Pence
Mike Pence ran his first political campaign in 1988 for...
- John R. Gregg
President of Vincennes University Acting; In office August...
- Luke Messer
Messer graduated from Greensburg Community High School in...
- Marc Short
Marc T. Short (born March 3, 1970) is an American political...
- Charlotte Pence Bond
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who was the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under Donald Trump. Before becoming vice president, he served as the 50th governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017.
- Overview
- Early life and radio talk show
- House of Representatives
- Governor of Indiana
- Vice president
- Later activities and 2024 presidential run
Mike Pence (born June 7, 1959, Columbus, Indiana, U.S.) 48th vice president of the United States (2017–21) in the Republican administration of Pres. Donald Trump. In 2020 Trump and Pence were defeated by their Democratic opponents, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Pence had previously served as governor of Indiana (2013–17).
Pence was raised in an Irish Catholic family. His parents owned several gas stations. While studying history at Hanover College (B.A., 1981), he became a “born-again, evangelical Catholic.” It was at church that he met Karen Batten, and the couple married in 1985. After earning a law degree at Indiana University in 1986, he entered private practice...
Through his media experience, Pence became an effective orator and developed his conservative brand. In 2000 he again ran for the House of Representatives and this time was successful, taking office the following year. During his six terms in Congress, he became especially known for his social conservatism; he often stated that he was “a Christian,...
In 2012 Pence ran for governor of Indiana. His campaign focused on economic issues, notably job creation and tax cuts. After narrowly winning the election, he took office in 2013. Two years later he received national attention when he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a state law that purported to protect individuals’ ability to ...
On July 15, 2016, Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, named Pence as his running mate. It was thought that he would help Trump with conservative voters as well as provide political experience, which the presidential candidate lacked. In addition, he was a popular choice with the party’s establishment, which had become worried about Trump’s often controversial remarks as well as his failure to repudiate racist elements among his supporters. At the Republican National Convention the following week, both candidates received the party’s official nomination. A month before the election, the ticket faced a major scandal after a hot-mic video from 2005 surfaced in which Trump told an entertainment reporter in vulgar language that he had tried to seduce a married woman and bragged about grabbing women by the genitals. Pence stated that he was offended by the comments—later reports, denied by Pence, claimed that he tried to replace Trump as the presidential pick—but he remained Trump’s running mate. On November 8, 2016, the Trump-Pence ticket defeated Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine. Pence resigned as governor of Indiana shortly before being sworn in as vice president on January 20, 2017.
Once in office, Pence sought to advance Trump’s policies and staunchly defended him through a number of scandals. In 2019 he notably opposed the House’s impeachment proceedings against Trump, who allegedly had withheld aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the country into opening a corruption investigation into Joe Biden; in 2020 Biden became the Democratic presidential nominee. Though Trump was impeached by the House, he was acquitted in the Senate trial in February 2020. That month Pence became head of the government’s task force handling the coronavirus outbreak, which in March was designated a global pandemic. As the virus, COVID-19, spread in the United States, businesses and schools began to close, and the economy entered a downturn that rivaled the Great Depression. The government’s handling of the crisis drew sharp criticism as some people alleged a lack of leadership and claimed that both Trump and Pence made misleading or false statements that minimized the seriousness of the coronavirus.
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In October 2020, about a month before the general election, Trump tested positive for the virus. As the president underwent medical treatment, Pence assumed a greater role in the reelection campaign. In the November election Biden and Harris were declared the winners, though the Trump-Pence ticket challenged the results, alleging voter fraud. However, no evidence was presented to back these claims, and by early December all states had certified the results. Pence subsequently faced pressure from Trump to block Congress’s certification of the election, which was scheduled to take place on January 6, 2021. That day Pence released a letter in which he stated that he would not try to overturn the results, noting that he lacked the “unilateral authority” to throw out electors, a false claim that the president had repeatedly advanced. Shortly thereafter Congress began the certification process, but it was halted when Trump supporters, who had just attended a rally with the president, stormed the Capitol. Pence was taken to a secure location, and some of the attackers were heard saying that he should be hanged. The siege lasted for several hours, but Pence and Congress eventually reconvened, and Biden’s win was certified.
Many accused Trump of inciting the Capitol attack, and on January 12 the House of Representatives passed a resolution that called on Pence to invoke the Twenty-fifth Amendment. However, he had earlier rejected the suggestion, stating that it was not “in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution.” On January 20 Pence’s term as vice president ended. He later published the memoir So Help Me God (2022), which focuses on his time in the White House. Pence largely defended Trump and his presidency, often referring to him as “my friend.”
Pence remained active in politics. In 2021 he joined the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, and he frequently spoke out on various matters. In 2022 the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade (1973), which had established abortion as a constitutional right. Pence praised the decision, saying in a Twitter post that the 1973 ruling had “been consigned to the ash heap of history.” He subsequently called for a federal ban on abortions at 15 weeks of gestation.
During this time several investigations were launched into Trump’s actions concerning the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol attack. These included a Department of Justice inquiry that was led by special counsel Jack Smith. In February 2023 it was revealed that Smith had subpoenaed Pence, who fought to avoid testifying. While a court subsequently limited his testimony, Pence ultimately answered questions before the grand jury in April. Four months later Trump was charged with obstruction of an official proceeding and three counts of conspiracy.
Most recently, Vice President Mike Pence, on January 6, 2021, announced the election of his successor, Kamala Harris.
Oct 30, 2023 · Presidential candidate Mike Pence was as vice president of the United States during the Trump administration. He has also served as a U.S. congressman and Indiana governor.
On January 27, 2017, Pence spoke at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., becoming the first vice president of the United States, and at the time, the highest-ranking U.S. official to ever speak at the annual event, until president Donald Trump spoke at the event in 2020. [9] [10] Pence said in 2018 he supported an overturn of Roe v.
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Jan 20, 2011 · Mike Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017, and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013.