05-05-2025
Mike Pence awarded JFK Profile in Courage award for certifying 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6
'I will always believe by God's grace, I did my duty that day to support the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution of the United States of America,' Pence said.
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Pence received the award 'for putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on Jan. 6, 2021,' the JFK Library Foundation said in
On Jan. 6, 2021, as rioters who contended the election was stolen took over the US Capitol chanting, 'Hang Mike Pence!' he ensured the constitutionally mandated transfer of power.
Pence remained in the Capitol during the riot, despite Secret Service urging him to evacuate, and coordinated with military and congressional leaders during the attack.
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Among the guests giving Pence a standing ovation as he received the silver lantern-shaped award were David Letterman, Governor Maura Healey, Senator Ed Markey, former governor Charlie Baker, Senator Christopher Dodd, Marc Short, Pence's former chief of staff, and Greg Jacob, Pence's former general counsel.
The award was presented to Pence by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of John F. Kennedy and honorary president of the library, and her son Jack Schlossberg, a member of the Profile in Courage Award Committee.
Schlossberg said the award does not celebrate victory or success.
'Instead, the winner often has to lose something first,' Schlossberg said.
The attack on the Capitol 'was an attempted coup, a failed insurrection that nearly succeeded and might have, if not for Mike Pence, who saved America that day,' Schlossberg said.
Kennedy commended Pence's leadership as a lesson to Americans in Trump's first hundred days that 'we can no longer take our democracy for granted.'
She added that she first thought Pence's certification of the election was just the vice president 'doing his job.'
'Only later did I realize that his act of courage saved our government and warned us about what could happen, and is happening right now,' Kennedy said.
When Pence reflected on Jan. 6, he said, 'the only heroes I saw were wearing uniforms.'
'Jan. 6 was a tragic day, but it became a triumph of freedom,' Pence said. 'History will record that our institutions held. When, after law enforcement secured the Capitol, leaders in both chambers, in both political parties, reconvened the very same day, and finished democracy's work under the Constitution.'
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Pence also acknowledged his break from the Republican Party on some issues, including his support for Ukraine.
'I also have differences with members of my own party on spending, tariffs, and my belief that America is the leader of the free world and must continue to stand with Ukraine until the Russian invasion is repelled and a just and lasting peace is secure,' Pence said to a standing ovation.
Pence repeatedly highlighted working Americans, including his supporters in Indiana.
'I have faith in the countless Americans who make this country work every day, and so should you,' Pence said. 'People who get up every morning, put in an honest day's work, look after their families, do the right thing when nobody's watching and never get a chance for a night like this.'
The award is presented annually by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to a public servant who, in the view of a bipartisan committee of politicians and other public figures, has made a 'courageous decision of conscience, without regard for the personal or professional consequences,' the library
The award was created in 1989 to 'honor President Kennedy's commitment and contribution to public service,' and was named after Kennedy's 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, 'Profiles in Courage,' according to the library foundation.
Former recipients include three US presidents, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pence credited the former president with inspiring the start of his political career.
'It was President Kennedy's eloquence and example that first inspired me to believe that public service was a noble calling, so to be here tonight bearing witness to a journey that President Kennedy helped inspire in my small life is more meaningful than I can possibly express,' Pence said.
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Jade Lozada can be reached at
