Many are wondering just what was said between President-elect Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, who served as vice president in Trump’s first administration.
Turns out, it was just five words.
According to an interview with Christianity Today, the exchange was cordial and brief.
“He 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.
Those are believed to be the first words the two spoke to each other since leaving office in 2021, per IJR.
Former second lady Karen Pence was seated next to her husband. She did not stand up or acknowledge Trump, Christianity Today reported.
“Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that God put me on one of these rows,” Pence said of the pews in the cathedral.
The reunion of sorts came at the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter Thursday in the National Cathedral.
The two didn’t part on the best of terms after losing the 2020 election.
Pence said he “welcomed” the chance to speak with Trump.
“The opportunity to speak to the president yesterday is something that I appreciated, I welcomed,” he said in a CT podcast that will 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. That’s certainly my hope.”
In the interview, Pence talked of one of their last conversations in 2021.
Pence told Trump he would continue to pray for him. Trump responded, “Don’t bother.”
“I said, ‘You know, there’s probably two things that we’re never going to agree on. … We’re probably never going to agree on what my duty was under the Constitution on Jan. 6.’ And then I said, ‘And I’m never going to stop praying for you,’” Pence told the outlet.
“And he said, ‘That’s right, Mike, don’t ever change.’”
Pence said he kept his word.
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