Former Vice President Mike Pence has further stoked speculation that his wife deliberately snubbed Donald and Melania Trump during Jimmy Carter’s funeral earlier this week.
The event sparked scrutiny over the dynamics between the Pences and the Trumps with cameras firmly trained on the former presidential partners, reigniting speculation over lingering tensions from their time in office.
It was the first time since leaving office in January 2021 the pair found themselves face-to-face.
The moment came just as Trump, the president-elect, approached Pence to shake hands.
While the exchange appeared cordial to onlookers, Pence has now shared what was said during their brief interaction.
‘He greeted me when he came down the aisle,’ Pence told Christianity Today.
‘I stood up, extended my hand. He shook my hand. I said, “Congratulations, Mr. President,” and he said, “Thanks, Mike.”‘
Yet, it is what happened – or rather didn’t happen – immediately after that has fueled intense speculation.
Karen Pence (seated center) refused to acknowledge Donald and Melania Trump as they arrived at the Washington National Cathedral for the funeral of President Jimmy Carter
Mike Pence shook hands with Donald Trump marking their first interaction since serving as his vice president in 2021. They had a major falling out after the January 6 Capitol attack
As Trump continued down the aisle, Karen Pence notably remained seated, refusing to rise, extend her hand, or even look in the direction of Trump or wife Melania. Instead, she remained seated, looking forward, the whole time.
The former second lady’s reaction was in stark contrast to how she warmly greeted former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, during the same event.
When asked about his wife’s behavior in the interview, Pence offered a carefully measured response that many have interpreted as a veiled acknowledgment of tension.
‘You’d have to ask my wife about her posture,’ he said. ‘But we’ve been married 44 years, and she loves her husband, and her husband respects her deeply.’
The fallout between Trump and Pence following the 2020 election remains one of the most dramatic episodes in recent political history.
After Pence refused to support Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results, their relationship fractured beyond repair.
The January 6 House select committee found that a Proud Boys informant had told the FBI that if members of the group had found Pence that day they would have killed him.
Still Pence refused to leave the Capitol on that day, instead hiding out in a garage-like structure deemed a secure location within the complex.
Melania Trump appeared to make a move toward Karen Pence to acknowledge her and the former second lady refused
As Trump continued down the aisle, Karen Pence notably remained seated, refusing to rise, extend her hand, or even look in the direction of Trump or wife Melania. Instead, she remained seated, looking forward, the whole time.
‘The vice president did not want to take any chance that the world would see the vice president of the United States fleeing the United States Capitol,’ his counselor to the vice president Greg Jacob testified to committee members in 2022.
Since leaving office, Pence has been in the political wilderness.
He tried running against Trump for the 2024 nomination but only stayed in the race from June through October of 2023.
Thursday’s funeral marked their first public reunion in four years.
‘The opportunity to speak to the president yesterday is something that I appreciated, I welcomed,’ Pence said the following day.
‘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. That’s certainly my hope.’
Pence has repeatedly stood by his role of certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral win, despite the political fallout, but Karen Pence’s apparent snub has left political observers wondering if the discord runs even deeper than previously thought.
From an alternative angle, Pence can be seen looking at Trump while wife Karen Pence keeps her face facing forward while looking down as the Trump’s entered
When asked about his wife’s behavior in the interview, Pence offered a carefully measured response that many have interpreted as a veiled acknowledgment of tension (file photo)
Body language experts quickly analyzed and dissected every glance and gesture, with the contrast between Karen Pence’s treatment of Trump and the Bushes only amplifying theories that the snub was intentional.
Her decision to remain seated and ignore Trump as he approached symbolized a deeper schism not just between the Pences and the Trumps, but within the fractured Republican Party itself.
And while Mike Pence’s careful words leave room for interpretation, but his actions of rising to greet Trump and offering him congratulations may signal that he is ready to heal and move past old wounds.
Whether Karen Pence shares such sentiments remains an open question.
The former second lady’s reaction was in stark contrast tho how she warmly greeted former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, during the same event
During last year’s election campaign, Pence refused to endorse Trump but he wouldn’t endorse Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, either.
Instead his political action committee financed advertisements ahead of the 2024 election pushing Americans to vote for Republicans on issues.
On Monday, the fourth anniversary of January 6, Pence commended Harris for chairing the joint session to certify Trump’s victory.
He said it was ‘particularly admirable that Vice President Harris would preside over the certification of a presidential election that she lost.’
Pence also sent well wishes to Trump.
‘I welcome the return of order and civility to these historic proceedings and offer my most sincere congratulations and prayers to President Donald J. Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance on their election to lead this great Nation,’ he said.
