Mike Pence | | 48th Vice President of the United States From: January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021 President | Donald Trump Predecessor | Joe Biden Successor | Kamala Harris Governor of Indiana From: January 14, 2013 – January 9, 2017 Predecessor | Mitch Daniels Successor | Eric Holcomb U.S. Representative from Indiana's 6th Congressional District From: January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2013 Predecessor | Dan Burton Successor | Luke Messer U.S. Representative from Indiana's 2nd Congressional District From: January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2003 Predecessor | David McIntosh Successor | Chris Chocola Information Party | Republican Spouse(s) | Karen Pence Religion | Evangelical Christian Michael Richard "Mike" Pence (born June 7, 1959)[1] is a former governor of Indiana, congressman from Indiana's 6th district and vice president. He was previously an attorney and conservative talk radio host. Pence holds several controversial positions that have been repudiated by Donald Trump. In 2018, for purely self-interested purposes, Pence interfered with Trump's plan to nominate a pro-life judge to the Seventh Circuit, and now pro-abort Biden will fill that vacancy left by the death of Judge Michael Kanne, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan.[2] Five sources confirmed Pence's interference.[2] Pence's tenure as vice president was the subject of much controversy among both liberals and conservatives alike. He was frequently accused of being involved in numerous subversive acts which undermined President Trump's agenda, especially on foreign policy. He also detracted from his own re-election ticket in 2020, avoided efforts to contest the 2020 election results in several states where irregularities were reported, and yet publicly attended Joe Biden's inauguration.[3] Thirteen months later, Pence defended his actions at a Koch network-sponsored event. Given these events, it is a certainty that Trump will not select Pence as his running mate should Trump be the Republican nominee in 2024. Pence is on the fringe of the GOP by opposing the nomination of Trump for president in 2024: “Well, there might be somebody else I’d prefer more,” Pence said in October 2022 during an event at Georgetown University, when asked if he would support Trump as the nominee. Prior to being governor and vice-president, Pence was one of the more conservative members of Congress, serving in the U.S. Representative from Indiana's 6th congressional district. In the 111th Congress, he served as Chairman of the House Republican Conference. Pence has also been a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. ## Contents * 1 Early life * 2 Early career * 3 U.S. Congress * 4 Governor of Indiana * 5 2016 GOP vice-presidential nominee * 6 Vice-president * 6.1 Transition team * 6.2 Coronovirus task force * 6.3 Election integrity * 7 Post-vice presidency * 8 Political philosophy * 9 Personal life * 10 References * 11 External links ## Early life[edit] Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana on June 7, 1959 to an Irish-Catholic family.[1][4] He was one of six children, and his father was a U.S. Army veteran and gas station-chain owner.[1][4] Early in his life, Pence was strongly aligned with the Democratic Party and was a Roman Catholic.[1][4] He volunteered for the party while in high school, and he voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980.[1] When Pence was in college he became a born-again Christian through his future wife, Karen.[4] After his conversion, his views shifted towards the right, and after the election of Ronald Reagan as president, Pence became a Republican as he was inspired by Reagan's policies.[1][4][5] Pence graduated from Hanover College in 1981 with a B.A. in history, and he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Indiana University School of Law in 1986.[1] ## Early career[edit] After graduation, Pence became a practicing attorney and started to get involved in politics, first "becoming a precinct committeeman for the Marion County Republican Party."[1] He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1988 and 1990, but "learned a valuable lesson in defeat" and "vowed to preach a positive message" after becoming disgusted by his negative attack ads.[1] Pence served as the president of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation from 1991 to 1993.[1] In 1994, he launched his own conservative talk radio show, and the next year he became a morning show host on television.[1] Pence discontinued both programs in 1999,[1] presumably in preparation for another run for Congress. In October 2009 Pence defended conservative talk radio, saying: > "To suggest that men and women that are taking a stand for fiscal discipline and traditional values in the national debate today only speak for ‘grassroots activists’ is absurd. As evidenced by the hundreds of thousands that filled town hall meetings this summer and the nearly a million Americans who gathered here in Washington in September. Millions of Americans, Republicans, Democrats and Independents are worried about liberal social policies and runaway federal spending, deficit and debt. > So to my friends in the so-called ‘mainstream media’ I say, ‘conservative talk show hosts may not speak for everybody but they speak for more Americans than you do.’"[6] ## U.S. Congress[edit] Congressman In 2000, Pence was elected to Congress and reelected in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010.[1] In 2005, he became chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group representing the most conservative members of the House.[1] The next year, Pence unsuccessfully ran for House minority leader, losing to John Boehner.[1] Pence served as the House Republican Conference Chair during the 111th Congress, which lasted from 2009–2011.[1][7] In Congress, Pence built a very conservative record, even opposing liberal Republican bills that would increase spending or the size of government, such as No Child Left Behind in 2001, and the Medicare expansion of 2002.[1][4] He also engaged in a filibuster in an unusual way.[8] ## Governor of Indiana[edit] Pence successfully ran for Indiana governor in 2012.[1][4] Pence's successor, the conservative Mitch Daniels, had been effective in boosting the state's economy, and Pence continued his policies. The Indiana economy continued to improve, and Pence cut taxes by $1.1 billion in 2013, which was the largest tax cut in state history.[1] In addition, Indiana has the seventh lowest tax burden or any state in 2013, and in 2014 Pence signed a law that will decrease the state corporate tax by 1.6 percent by 2021.[4] While liberals expect tax cuts to increase budget deficits, by 2016 Indiana actually had a $2 billion surplus,[1] and unemployment dropped by 3.4 percent since his term began.[4] In 2014, Mike Pence endorsed the globalist Trans Pacific Partnership.[9] Pence became nationally famous in 2015 for initially defending a new religious freedom law for Indiana businesses that would have enabled them to decline services that support the homosexual agenda, such as in being forced to bake a cake for homosexual couples.[1][4] Ultimately, Pence compromised under intense pressure from the liberal media and added protections for sexual orientation into Indiana law.[1][4] While many conservatives considered Pence's move a betrayal, subsequent events showed that Pence did stand up more against the homosexual agenda than virtually any other governor, including other Republicans such as Greg Abbott and Chris Christie. In addition, Pence is pro-life, and in 2016 he signed a bill into law that stops abortions when the unborn human being has a disability.[1] ## 2016 GOP vice-presidential nominee[edit] Pence with Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention. See also: 2016 U.S. presidential election Pence first endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz for the Republican presidential nomination, but after businessman Donald Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, Pence was chosen to be the vice-presidential nominee.[1] Pence debated Democrat VP nominee Tim Kaine on October 4, 2016, and he gave a much better performance than Kaine.[10][11] This was despite the fact that Kaine interrupted Pence 70 times in the debate.[12] Pence masterfully used his debating skills that he acquired from being a talk radio host while Kaine was hyper and sometimes hard to follow.[13] Even the liberal mainstream media, which holds double standards and loves to bash conservatives, believed that Pence won.[13][14] The Donald Trump–Mike Pence ticket won the election in a massive, historical upset.[15] ## Vice-president[edit] Soon after the election, the conservative Pence replaced the moderate Chris Christie, who is facing serious allegations in a scandal, as the head of Trump's transition team.[16] One of his first decisions as head was to remove every lobbyist, who had been appointed by Christie, from the team, in order to "drain the swamp" in Washington D.C.[17][18] On the same day, the team announced that all Trump Administration officials would be placed under a five-year lobbying ban after leaving, which is much stricter than the ban by the transition team of the previous president, Barack Obama.[19] The transition team under Pence's leadership reportedly completed its work on time and 20 percent under budget.[20] Vice President Pence became the first vice president in United States history to speak at the annual March for Life march in Washington D.C. in 2017.[21][22] On February 7, 2017, Pence became the first vice president in United States history to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate for confirming a cabinet nominee.[23] He also became the first since 2008 to cast a tie-breaking vote at all.[23] Pence speaking in October 2017 It was reported in late April 2017 that Pence and eight other Trump Administration cabinet members were participating in a weekly Bible study.[24][25][26] This suggested that the Trump Administration is, at least in part, striving to be under God.[27] In May 2017, Pence created a PAC, called the "Great America Leadership PAC," to help fund the GOP in upcoming elections, becoming the first sitting vice president to do so.[28] Vice President Pence played an active and relatively important role in the Trump Administration,[29][30] including representing the administration in foreign countries.[30][31] A July 2017 poll found Pence to be the most popular national political official and the only one with a positive rating – of both Republicans and Democrats – with 45% approving and 44% disapproving.[32] Pence used his role in the Trump Administration to promote socially conservative policies.[33] Despite his generally conservative positions, Pence was the keynote speaker at a political strategy retreat for the Koch Brothers, who take left-wing positions on several issues, particularly illegal immigration and globalism.[34] In the early morning hours of January 7, 2021, Pence illegally certified the results of the 2020 presidential election in favor of Democrat candidate Joe Biden, even though Biden illegally benefited from massive amounts of voting fraud committed by the Democrats and their operatives to steal the election from President Trump.[35] In doing so, however, Pence fully exposed himself as being a liberal RINO, effectively ending his political career, as well as a traitor to America. Trump subsequently responded to Pence's betrayal in a statement publicized via Trump's White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, stating: “ | Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again![36] | ” | | ### Transition team[edit] See also: Trump transition As head of the Trump transition team, Pence recommended Dan Coats for DNI, Michael Atkinson as Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG), James Mattis as Secretary of Defense, and Dana Boente to head the DOJ-NSD, all later proven anti-Trump Deep State operatives. ### Coronovirus task force[edit] Pence led the White House coronavirus task force.[37] ### Election integrity[edit] See also: Democrat election fraud On December 22, 2020, Pence spoke at a Turning Point USA event in West Palm Beach, Florida where he told the crowd that “as our election contest continues, I’ll make you a promise. We’re going to keep fighting until every legal vote is counted. We’re going to keep fighting until every illegal vote is thrown out. we’re going to win Georgia, we’re going to save America, and we’ll never stop fighting to make America great again. You watch.”[38] Despite this, Pence certified the heavily disputed 2020 presidential election results, and attended the inauguration of illegitimate president Joseph Biden in January 2021. ## Post-vice presidency[edit] On 17 June 2022, Mike Pence was lauded by far-left newspaper New York Times for what it described as "courage" in certifying the heavily disputed election results.[39] In the November 2022 United States elections, Pence endorsed numerous establishment, globalist, anti-Trump, Deep State RINOs. For example, he endorsed Rebecca Kleefisch in the Wisconsin gubernatorial election.[40] On February 9, 2023 the Biden FBI raided Pence's private residence looking for classified materials. ## Political philosophy[edit] Pence describes himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order."[4][41] His political views are strongly influenced by his faith and by Russell Kirk.[4] Pence was an early supporter of the Tea Party movement.[41] On the other hand, Pence has a record of supporting many neoconservative and globalist policies, including high immigration levels,[42], supporting trade deals which Trump labeled as "bad for America",[43] and his record indicates that he is not as conservative on social issues as the mainstream media alleges.[44] Pence supported neocon foreign invasions and the War on Terror.[43] At the October 7, 2020 VP debate (ahead of the elections), ABC's David Muir commented: Pence was very effective in defense of President Trump.[45] CNN's (former Obama's aide) far-left Van Jones: "Pence made conservative ideas look normal. That is to his credit."[46] ## Personal life[edit] Pence married his wife Karen in 1985, and together they have three children.[1] As a Christian and out of loyalty to his wife, he refuses to go out to dinner with any woman if his wife is not with him.[47] Liberals, who do not adhere to family values, misunderstood Pence and falsely accused him of "sexism."[48] Despite the fact that Pence is a Christian, he has used shameful, filthy language in public.[49] ## References[edit] 1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 Mike Pence. Biography.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016. 2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/12/mike-pence-kanne-judge-trump-1411915 3. ↑ https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/534835-pence-other-gop-officials-expected-to-skip-trump-send-off 4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 Eason, Brian (July 15, 2016). Trump's VP? 10 things to know about Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. IndyStar. Retrieved October 4, 2016. 5. ↑ Graham, Jordan (September 8, 2016). Mike Pence explains how Ronald Reagan made him a Republican. The Orange County Register. Retrieved September 18, 2016. 6. ↑ Pence: Rush, Beck speak for many. Politico. October 22, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2016. 7. ↑ PENCE, Mike, (1959 - ). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 5, 2016. 8. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHnZphCBWTA 9. ↑ Pence on Twitter, 2014 10. ↑ Boyle, Matthew (October 5, 2016). ‘Flawless’ Victory: Mike Pence Dominates Tim Kaine in Vice Presidential Debate. Breitbart. Retrieved October 6, 2016. 11. ↑ Agiesta, Jennifer (October 5, 2016). Pence edges Kaine in VP debate instant poll. CNN. Retrieved October 6, 2016. 12. ↑ Struyk, Ryan (October 5, 2016). Tim Kaine Interrupted Mike Pence 70 Times in Vice Presidential Debate. ABC News. Retrieved October 6, 2016. 13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Bradner, Eric (October 5, 2016). 5 takeaways from the vice presidential debate. CNN. Retrieved October 6, 2016. 14. ↑ Zurcher, Anthony (October 5, 2016). Pence v Kaine: Who won the vice-presidential debate?. BBC News. Retrieved October 5, 2016. 15. ↑ Trump wins presidency, defeats Clinton in historic election upset. Fox News. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016. 16. ↑ Pence replaces Christie in Trump transition team shuffle. Fox News. November 11, 2016. 17. ↑ Pence removing lobbyists from Trump transition team. Fox News. November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016. 18. ↑ Jaffe, Alexandra (Novemer 16, 2016). Mike Pence Orders Lobbyists Be Removed From Transition Team. NBC News. Retrieved November 17, 2016. 19. ↑ Arnsdorf, Isaac & Vogel, Kenneth P. (November 16, 2016). Trump team announces tough lobbying ban. Politico. Retrieved November 17, 2016. 20. ↑ Miller, S.A. (January 19, 2017). Mike Pence: Trump transition finishing on time, under budget. The Washington Times. Retrieved February 8, 2017. 21. ↑ Sells, Heather (January 27, 2017). VP Mike Pence Making History at the March for Life. CBN News. Retrieved January 27, 2017. 22. ↑ Hickey, Jennifer (January 27, 2017). 'Life is winning': Pence fired up March for Life crowd. Fox News. Retrieved January 27, 2017. 23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 DeVos confirmed as education secretary, Pence casts historic tie-breaking vote. Fox News. February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017. 24. ↑ TOP STORY: Trump Cabinet Members Praying, Studying the Bible Together. CBN News. April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017. 25. ↑ Gotera, Jay (April 28, 2017). Trump Cabinet Members Gather Weekly for Prayer Session; Senate and House Also Hold Bible Studies. The Christian Post. Retrieved April 29, 2017. 26. ↑ Haverluck, Michael F. (April 29, 2017). Trump cabinet fellowships thru prayer, Bible study. One News Now. Retrieved April 29, 2017. 27. ↑ Bakinski, Pete (April 29, 2017). Mike Pence sponsors Bible study for Trump cabinet. Life Site News. Retrieved April 29, 2017. 28. ↑ Spiering, Charlie (May 18, 2017). Mike Pence Creates ‘Great America’ Leadership PAC. Breitbart News. Retrieved May 18, 2017. 29. ↑ Westwood, Sarah (June 18, 2017). Mike Pence stays above Trump scandals and in touch with Capitol Hill. Washington Examiner. Retrieved July 1, 2017. 30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 O'Sullivan, Mike (December 31, 2017). Pence Carving a Role as Presidential Envoy. Voice of America. Retrieved December 31, 2017. 31. ↑ O'Sullivan, Mike (August 11, 2017). US VP Pence Embraces Role as Key Diplomat. Voice of America. Retrieved August 11, 2017. 32. ↑ Bedard, Paul (July 13, 2017). Pence rises: Only DC leader with positive approval rating. Washington Examiner. Retrieved July 13, 2017. 33. ↑ Abutaleb, Yasmeen; Mason, Jeff (January 19, 2018). In year of drama and chaos, Pence quietly advances conservative agenda. Reuters. Retrieved January 20, 2018. See also: * A look at Vice President Pence's first year in office: key takeaways. USA Today. January 20, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2018. 34. ↑ Binder, John (September 29, 2017). VP Mike Pence to Be Keynote Speaker at Pro-Amnesty Koch Brothers’ Retreat. Breitbart News. Retrieved September 29, 2017. 35. ↑ BREAKING: Traitor Mike Pence Certifies Biden’s Election ‘Victory’ at the Gateway Pundit 36. ↑ BREAKING: President Trump Issues Statement Responding to Electoral Certification at the Gateway Pundit 37. ↑ Trump hits 3M after company is accused of selling masks to foreign countries over U.S. buyers \- The Washington Times 38. ↑ https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/mike-pence-speech-at-turning-point-usa-event-transcript-december-22 39. ↑ We Should Thank Mike Pence for His Courage on Jan. 6 40. ↑ Pence endorses Kleefisch for governor in Wisconsin, breaking from Trump 41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Phillips, Amber (October 4, 2016). Who is Mike Pence?. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 4, 2016. 42. ↑ Munro, Neil (January 5, 2018). Report: VP Pence Invites Sen. Flake To Lobby Trump For Amnesty. Breitbart News. Retrieved April 20, 2018. 43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 The Problem with Mike Pence: He's A Free Trade Globalist 44. ↑ Newman, Alex (July 15, 2016). Trump VP Pence: Globalist Neocon or Solid Conservative? The New American. Retrieved April 11, 2018. 45. ↑ ABC News, October 7, 2020, around 10:35 PM ET 46. ↑ CNN News, October 7, 2020. around 10:49 PM ET 47. ↑ Richardson, Bradford (November 29, 2017). Once mocked, ‘Pence rule’ gets renewed look in wake of sexual misconduct wave. The Washington Times. Retrieved November 30, 2017. 48. ↑ Multiple references: * Gonzales, Sara (March 31, 2017). Liberals’ reactions to Mike Pence’s loyalty to his wife are getting more unhinged by the hour. The Blaze. Retrieved May 10, 2017. * Shapiro, Ben (April 6, 2017). On Human Nature and Mike Pence's Dinner Partners. CNS News. Retrieved May 10, 2017. Liberal sources that genuinely believe Pence is "sexist" for his moral practice: * Abcarian, Robin (April 5, 2017). Mike Pence won't dine alone with a woman who's not his wife. Is that sexist?. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 10, 2017. * Duffy, Erin (April 5, 2017). How Mike Pence’s Dumb Dinner Rule Puts Women at a Disadvantage. Fortune. Retrieved May 10, 2017. 49. ↑ McHugh, Katie (October 4, 2016). Mike Pence Mocks Media Coverage of Trump: ‘This Sh*t Really Is Fun to Watch’. Breitbart. Retrieved October 6, 2016. ## External links[edit] * Profile on the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress * Profile on Ballotpedia * Mike Pence On the Issues v • d • e Vice Presidents of the United States J.Adams • Jefferson • Burr • G.Clinton • Gerry • Tompkins • Calhoun • Van Buren • R. Johnson • Tyler • Dallas • Fillmore • King • Breckinridge • Hamlin • A. 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