Pence says January 6 attack's failure 'became a triumph of freedom' as he receives JFK Profile in Courage Award
Source: CNN Politics
Published 11:46 PM EDT, Sun May 4, 2025
CNN — Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday while receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award that January 6, 2021, “became a triumph of freedom” because Congress returned to do its constitutional duty after the attack on the Capitol.
“Our institutions held that day, not because of any one person, but because leaders in both political parties, Republicans and Democrats, did their duties,” the former vice president said while receiving the award for putting his life and career on the line in rejecting President Donald Trump’s pressure to overturn the 2020 election. “So I came tonight to give credit where credit is due, but also to say in these divided times, in these anxious days, I know in my heart that we will find our way forward as one nation.”
Pence refused when Trump repeatedly pressured him to overturn the results of the 2020 election, fraying the relationship between the two men. Pence was presiding as Congress counted Electoral College votes to certify Joe Biden’s victory when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The vice president, his wife, Karen; and his daughter, Charlotte, remained in the Capitol while police beat back the rioters, and Pence later oversaw the election’s certification. “January 6 was a tragic day,” Pence said Sunday. “But it became a triumph of freedom. And history will record that our institutions held.”
After leaving office, Pence ran against Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. The former vice president dropped out of the race about three months before the first votes were cast after struggling to gain traction in a party that had largely abandoned the Reagan-inspired conservative principles Pence represents and remained loyal to his former boss.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/04/politics/mike-pence-jfk-award-january-6
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