After the hearings on January 6, former Vice President Mike Pence is in an unusual situation as a result of them.
Because he resisted Donald J. Trump’s pressure campaign to overturn the 2020 election at a time when American democracy appeared to be on the verge of collapse, he has become something of a hero to some Democrats in Congress. He did this at a time when American democracy appeared to be on the verge of collapse. Mr. Trump and the political base that he represents see Mr. Pence as a coward who threw away the presidency. And to a large portion of anti-Trump voters belonging to both parties, he is essentially seen as someone who finally did the right thing by standing up to his former boss — years too late, after cheerfully backing or ignoring some of Mr. Trump’s earlier abuses.
The yo-yoing of images makes for a shaky underpinning for a possible presidential campaign, which Mr. Pence has been preparing the groundwork for. Despite this, the former vice president is continuing his tour of the United States in anticipation of the primary elections in 2024, despite the fact that his situation is very precarious.
Mr. Pence continues to walk a tightrope, trying to make the best of a situation he didn’t seek while avoiding becoming openly adversarial to the president.
Although Mr. Pence himself has revealed little about the events of January 6, his aides have testified about his determination as Mr. Trump and his friends sought to pressure him to sabotage President Biden’s win. Mr. Pence gave a lecture on economics at the University Club of Chicago on Monday, and he sounded very much like a candidate. However, he didn’t seem like someone who was very eager in addressing the particulars of what he went through on January 6th.
Mr. Pence reminded those in attendance, “We’ve all gone through a lot over the course of the previous few years.” “A worldwide epidemic, social turmoil, a divided election, a horrible day in our nation’s capital — and a government that seems to be dragging our economy into the abyss of a socialist welfare state practically every day.”
The testimony of Mr. Pence’s former chief of staff, Marc Short, and former lawyer, Greg Jacob, has provided the majority of the information that has been uncovered about Mr. Pence’s state of mind at the time. Mr. Pence, as he made plain in his address in Chicago, has kept his sights focused on the administration of former President Joe Biden as well as on electing Republicans in the midterm elections, including Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia and others who were severely at war with Mr. Trump. It’s possible that Mr. Pence won’t share his more pointed opinions until the autumn, when his book is scheduled to be published.
It is anticipated that officials will make another attempt to invite Mr. Pence to testify, which is a step that he will almost certainly refuse. On Sunday, Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California and a member of the committee, left the door open to the possibility that the committee may still seek his appearance.