OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
In the months after former President Donald Trump left office, reports circulated that he and his vice president, Mike Pence, had been working on repairing their relationship, damaged in part after the Jan. 6 incident and the veep’s decision to count electoral vote tallies from all states including results from states the former president contested.
But at some point last summer, those efforts appear to have stalled according to Pence, who now says he and Trump haven’t talked since then, the Washington Examiner reports.
The outlet notes:
The former vice president indicated his relationship with the former president has suffered from tension over the events of Jan. 6, 2021, a date on which the two expressed differing views of the vice president’s constitutional responsibility in overseeing the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
“You know, we talked last summer,” Pence told Fox’s Jesse Watters on Thursday. “And, you know, I’ve said many times, it was difficult. Jan. 6 was difficult. It was a tragic day in the life of the nation.”
When was the last time Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke to Former President Trump? WATCH #FoxNews pic.twitter.com/4LWKvK3B0c
— Jesse Watters Primetime (@jesseprimetime) January 28, 2022
“I know I did my duty under the Constitution of the United States,” Pence added. “But the president and I sat down in the days that followed that. We spoke about it, talked through it. We parted amicably.”
The outlet added:
Pence has downplayed the broader import of Jan. 6, saying “one tragic day in January” was being used to demean Trump supporters in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network. However, he has not expressed regret over upholding the election results that day.
The former vice president’s decision not to overturn the election on Jan. 6 has placed him at odds with some Trump followers, leading the former president to claim that Pence’s relationship with the party was weak.
“I think Mike has been very badly hurt by what took place in respect to Jan. 6,” Trump observed at an event in Florida in December. “I think he’s been mortally wounded, frankly, because I see the reaction he’s getting from people.”
But the former president also said that Pence’s decision to count all electoral votes was really his only beef with his vice president who he otherwise praised.
“It’s like saying we won the game, [and] we win another game, but we got our a** kicked in the World Series,” Trump said. “Mike should have sent those crooked votes back to the legislatures, and you would have had a different result in the election, in my opinion.”
To clarify, no federal or state courts have ruled that electoral votes from any state were invalid. But that said, several GOP state legislatures have since moved to pass what they describe as “voter integrity” bills to improve security and confidence in outcomes, though Democrats disagree and say the laws are designed to disrupt voting, not enhance it or secure results.
In April 2021, reports indicated that the two men were working on repairing their relationship and mending fences after Pence had pacemaker surgery.
“Absolutely. I really do,” Kellogg told the “John Solomon Reports” podcast on Friday when asked if the two could repair their relationship which was fractured following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol Building.
“They’re talking together. I know the president called him when he had his operation just recently on the pacemaker. And I know they’re talking,” Kellogg said.
The retired military leader also talked about how both men interacted during Trump’s term in office.
“When I used to be in the Oval with both of them, I just loved being with both of them,” he said.
“There was good banter going back and forth. And you know, and when they would talk privately, I mean, the vice president would say, ‘Give me the room,’ which means ‘leave,’ and we would get up and leave the Oval, and then he and the president would talk out there,” he said.
“And I think they were an incredible team together going forward,” Kellogg added.
