Former Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday that he “welcomed” his interaction with his one-time boss and running mate, Donald Trump when the two men met face to face for the first time in four years at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
The service’s broadcast featured several memorable moments, including former President George W. Bush playfully tapping former President Barack Obama on the stomach and a notable conversation between Obama and Trump within earshot of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The event also spotlighted a handshake and a brief exchange between Trump and Pence, drawing considerable attention.
It was the first time the two met and spoke since January 6, 2021, when thousands of MAGA supporters stormed the Capitol, and Pence ignored Trump’s wishes by certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory, the Washington Times reported.
“The opportunity to speak to the president yesterday is something that I appreciated, I welcomed,” Pence told Christianity Today Editor-in-Chief Russell Moore for a podcast episode slated to air Wednesday.
“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,” he continued. “That’s certainly my hope.”
After their term together, Pence became a prominent Trump critic—and vice versa—even mounting a failed bid for the White House last year.
But not everyone took the opportunity of the Carter funeral to let bygones be bygones. Pence’s wife, Karen, refused to even acknowledge the president-elect and incoming first lady, Melania Trump, as video showed.
Trump “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. “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.”
The snub occurred as the Trumps arrived at the Washington National Cathedral, making their first significant public appearance since the president-elect’s November victory.
WATCH:
When you go to a wedding, and you run into someone you don’t like, you politely say hello, and move on. Because you’re an adult.
Karen Pence blanked the President-elect and his wife… in a church… at a funeral… as a Christian….
Pathetic.pic.twitter.com/3j5TKEXGQ0
— John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) January 9, 2025
Social media users wasted no time weighing in on the snub, with one tweeting, “People with no class, make classless moves,” while another wrote, “I would expect nothing less from a Pence.” Said another, “She’s the worst.”
“They did not even acknowledge Melania neither did bushes wife.. those frickng people are jealous morons. The mean girls ex first lady club,” another user said.
Still another user wrote: “If Trump can shake Pence’s hand, she just looks like a petulant child. Bad look on her…Trump only looked like a leader.”
“Karen Pence wants nothing to do with Donald or Melania Trump,” added one observer. “There was no need for this whatsoever.”
There were other uncomfortable moments at the 39th president’s funeral.
CNN’s Jake Tapper noted the tense greeting between President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and their spouses, saying it was not “particularly warm.”
The Bidens met Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff as cameras inside the National Cathedral caught the moment. There didn’t seem to be much eye contact or handshakes between the four of them.
“There’s President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden. And I think he has 11 days left as president of the United States. Obviously, an eventful year, one that he did not plan for,” Tapper noted.
”Started the year as a would-be Democratic presidential nominee, and we all know what happened after that. Again, you didn’t see a particularly warm greeting between the first couple and the second couple. But again, we are at a funeral, so one has to take that into account when trying to read the body language of the individuals there,” he added.
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