Former Vice President Mike Pence revealed Wednesday that then-Vice President Joe Biden gave him some advice on the job during the transition between the Obama and Trump administrations in early 2017.
“He did give me some advice,” Mr. Pence said in a NewsNation event, referring to his brief interaction with President Biden. “It was: ‘Stay close to the president and build that relationship.’ And I will tell you, for all the faults of the Obama-Biden years, they had a good working relationship.”
“And I will tell you, it didn’t end the way I wanted it to, but I’m very proud of the relationship I had with President Trump during our four years,” Mr. Pence added in the event, adding that he is “proud” of the Trump administration’s record.
Mr. Pence, Mr. Trump, and President Biden are each currently making White House bids for 2024’s election.
Mr. Pence and Mr. Trump had a falling out after the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, as the former vice president and aides claimed he had no authority under the U.S. Constitution to reject certification of the 2020 election. On social media, Mr. Trump wrote Mr. Pence “greatly disappointed” him for certifying the electoral votes on that day.
While the former Republican president has issued few comments on Mr. Pence’s presidential bid even as the former vice president has become increasingly vocal about Jan. 6, Mr. Trump sharply criticized him on his Truth Social last month. It came after the former president pleaded not guilty to charges brought by federal prosecutors in the 2020 election case.
“WOW, it’s finally happened! Liddle’ Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social last month.
He added that he “never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution, or that Mike was ‘too honest,’” referring to reports that Mr. Pence played a role in the federal indictment against him. “He’s delusional, and now he wants to show he’s a tough guy,” Trump added.
Responding to some of the claims, Mr. Pence said that “President Trump asked me to put him over the Constitution,” referring to the incidents on Jan. 6. “But I chose the Constitution, and I always will,” he said.
“I really do believe that anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be President of the United States,” the former Indiana governor also said. “I’ve been very forthright about this issue, and I’ll continue to be.”
An average of recent polls provided by RealClearPolitics shows that Mr. Pence is consistently polling in the single digits. As of Thursday, he stood at about 4.8 percent, or about 50 percentage points behind frontrunner Mr. Trump.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pence appears to still have a strained relationship with Trump supporters. An August town hall in New Hampshire that featured the former vice president was met with pro-Trump protesters.
“There’s the sellout! There’s the traitor!” they yelled at Mr. Pence as he exited his vehicle, according to reports. “Why’d you sell out the people?”
The former vice president didn’t respond, but during the town hall, he attempted to make amends. “I know the people in this movement, whether they support me or not, are the best people in this country,” Mr. Pence said.
While in Iowa this week, Mr. Pence was shouted down by a protester who called on him “to leave and get the [expletive] out of our country, and get the [expletive] out of Iowa,” according to video footage of the incident.
“Thank you. I’m going to put him down as a maybe,” he said in response.
