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Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Mike Pence criticizes key elements of Trump agenda
Former Vice President Mike Pence picked apart key elements of the Donald Trump agenda, weighing in on 'wavering' support for Ukraine and tariffs he said would drive up inflation. Pence slapped at the Trump agenda in a CNN interview a day after collecting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award at the JFK Library Foundation in Boston for his refusal to go along with Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election results. While he has long criticized Trump's actions that day, his latest criticisms touch on the economy and Trump's expansionist foreign policy statements. 'The president's call for broad-based tariffs against friend and foe alike,' Pence told the network's Kaitlan Collins. 'Ultimately, the administration is advancing policies that are not targeted at countries that have been abusing our trade relationship, but rather are essentially new industrial policy that will result in inflation , that will harm consumers and ultimately harm the American economy.' Tariffs have become central to Trump's second term economic agenda, and Trump and his team have stood by them even as the president paused 'reciprocal' tariffs that sent markets tanking last month. Pence also took the opportunity to ding Trump when asked about the president's comment last week that 'Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls would cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.' That line seemed to concede that tariffs would cause inflation that would hit American households. 'I have two grown daughters. I have three small granddaughters. And look, keeping dolls affordable, keeping our kids' toys affordable, that really is part of the American dream,' said Pence. Nor did he shy from criticizing Trump's stunning statements about the U.S. needing to acquire Greenland, which has been affiliated with Denmark for hundreds of years. 'I think Greenland is enormously important to us and our national security. But the fact that we already have two military bases there, and the ability to negotiate further, is more than enough for us to satisfy that need,' was Pence's response. Pence, whose became the first high-profile Republican to end his 2024 presidential campaign in October 2023, was vague on his political future. He has urged the GOP to hew to conservative policies on social issues like abortion. 'Whatever the future holds for me, I'm going to try and be a consistent voice for those conservative values that I think are not only the right policy for the Republican Party,' he said. He repeated earlier claims that he was 'deeply disappointed to see President Trump pardon people that engaged in violence against law enforcement officers' on January 6 – a day his security detail tried to rush him from the Capitol and he remained in a basement, allowing Congress to reconvene to certify Joe Biden's victory. 'The President has every right under the constitution to grant pardons, but in that moment, I thought it sent the wrong message.' He also did something Trump often refuses to do: criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine and pummelling the territory. Trump has been urging Russian and Ukraine to make peace, while his administration signals that Russia will be permitted to keep seized territory. 'If the last three years teaches us anything, it's that Vladimir Putin doesn't want peace. He wants Ukraine,' said Pence. 'And the fact that we are now nearly two months following a ceasefire agreement that Ukraine has agreed to, and Russia continues to delay and give excuses — it confirms that point.' Trump famously berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, and what Pence called 'wavering support' has 'only emboldened Russia.' At a time when Trump has characterized the war as more of a problem for Europe, Pence said: 'I really do believe that if Vladimir Putin overruns Ukraine, it's just a matter of time before he crosses a border where our men and women in uniform are going to have to go fight him.'
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Mike Pence risks Trump fury as he unloads over tariffs, Russia, Greenland and Jan 6: 'Deeply disappointed'
Former Vice President Mike Pence picked apart key elements of the Donald Trump agenda, weighing in on 'wavering' support for Ukraine and tariffs he said would drive up inflation. Pence slapped at the Trump agenda in a CNN interview a day after collecting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award at the JFK Library Foundation in Boston for his refusal to go along with Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election results. While he has long criticized Trump's actions that day, his latest criticisms touch on the economy and Trump's expansionist foreign policy statements. 'The president's call for broad-based tariffs against friend and foe alike,' Pence told the network's Kaitlan Collins. 'Ultimately, the administration is advancing policies that are not targeted at countries that have been abusing our trade relationship, but rather are essentially new industrial policy that will result in inflation, that will harm consumers and ultimately harm the American economy.' Tariffs have become central to Trump's second term economic agenda, and Trump and his team have stood by them even as the president paused 'reciprocal' tariffs that sent markets tanking last month. Pence also took the opportunity to ding Trump when asked about the president's comment last week that 'Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls would cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.' That line seemed to concede that tariffs would cause inflation that would hit American households. 'I have two grown daughters. I have three small granddaughters. And look, keeping dolls affordable, keeping our kids' toys affordable, that really is part of the American dream,' said Pence. Nor did he shy from criticizing Trump's stunning statements about the U.S. needing to acquire Greenland, which has been affiliated with Denmark for hundreds of years. 'I think Greenland is enormously important to us and our national security. But the fact that we already have two military bases there, and the ability to negotiate further, is more than enough for us to satisfy that need,' was Pence's response. Pence, whose became the first high-profile Republican to end his 2024 presidential campaign in October 2023, was vague on his political future. He has urged the GOP to hew to conservative poliicies on social issues like abortion. 'Whatever the future holds for me, I'm going to try and be a consistent voice for those conservative values that I think are not only the right policy for the Republican Party,' he said. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg and her son Jack Schlossberg present the 2025 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, 'for putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on January 6, 2021' He repeated earlier claims that he was 'deeply disappointed to see President Trump pardon people that engaged in violence against law enforcement officers' on January 6 – a day his security detail tried to rush him from the Capitol and he remained in a basement, allowing Congress to reconvene to certify Joe Biden's victory. 'The President has every right under the constitution to grant pardons, but in that moment, I thought it sent the wrong message.' He also did something Trump often refuses to do: criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine and pummelling the territory. Trump has been urging Russian and Ukraine to make peace, while his administration signals that Russia will be permitted to keep seized territory. 'If the last three years teaches us anything, it's that Vladimir Putin doesn't want peace. He wants Ukraine,' said Pence. 'And the fact that we are now nearly two months following a ceasefire agreement that Ukraine has agreed to, and Russia continues to delay and give excuses — it confirms that point.' Trump famously berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, and what Pence called 'wavering support' has 'only emboldened Russia.' At a time when Trump has characterized the war as more of a problem for Europe, Pence said: 'I really do believe that if Vladimir Putin overruns Ukraine, it's just a matter of time before he crosses a border where our men and women in uniform are going to have to go fight him.'
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mike Pence Is Too Scared to Mention Trump While Picking Up ‘Courage' Award
Former Vice President Mike Pence decided not to mention his old boss when he went to pick up a 'courage' award for defying him. Pence received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the JFK Library in Boston Sunday for his refusal to endorse false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump—which made him the No. 1 target for Trump's supporters during the Jan. 6 riots. The JFK Library Foundation lauded Pence for 'putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on Jan. 6, 2021.' Despite this, Pence failed to mention Trump in his 10-minute acceptance speech. Instead, Trump's former deputy made references to the importance of the Constitution—hours after the president refused to say, in a jaw-dropping NBC interview, whether he himself should have to abide by it. 'To forge a future together, we have to find common ground,' Pence said, after receiving the award—which is named after a book written by Kennedy while still a U.S. senator. 'I hope in some small way my presence here tonight is a reminder that whatever differences we may have as Americans, the Constitution is the common ground on which we stand. It's what binds us across time and generations. It's what makes us one people.' He also touched on 'these divided times, in these anxious days,' and obliquely criticized Trump for his tariffs and his stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 'America is the leader of the free world and must stand with Ukraine until the Russian invasion is repelled and a just and lasting peace is secured,' he said, touching on Trump's clear preference for Russia's Vladimir Putin over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The comments come after Pence called on Trump to stop believing Putin's lies in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last week. 'Only renewed American military support for our close partner provides any hope for a just and lasting peace,' he wrote, urging him to support Ukraine. Pence also called Trump's tariffs a 'massive policy misstep.' Trump's attitude on Meet the Press Sunday, meanwhile, showed a different level of regard for the Constitution. Host Kristen Welker asked him, 'Don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?' His answer came through gritted teeth. 'I don't know. I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said,' he said. The Supreme Court has ordered him to facilitate the return of wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia and provide due process to migrants generally. Due process, for citizens and non-citizens, is protected under the Fifth Amendment. Asked whether he agreed with this element of the Constitution, he answered: 'I don't know, I'm not a lawyer.' Pence became the target of MAGA anger after standing firm against Trump's claims that Joe Biden had stolen the 2020 election. Those claims ultimately led to the fatal insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol to prevent Congress confirming the election result. Pence defied the advice of Secret Service agents to flee, and instead hunkered down in the building as it was stormed. He later presided over the certification of the election result after the Capitol was cleared. As Pence hid with his family and aides in the building and protesters funneled through the corridors chanting 'Hang Mike Pence!' Trump fueled the fire by railing against his lack of 'courage' in a Twitter post. 'Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify,' he wrote on the site, now called X. Pence had a different telling of events. Speaking to the audience at the JFK Library on Sunday, he said: '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. 'Jan. 6 was a tragic day but it became a triumph of freedom. History will record that our institutions held. Leaders in both chambers, in both political parties reconvened the very same day and finished democracy's work under the Constitution.' The award was presented by JFK's daughter, Caroline Kennedy, along with his grandson Jack Schlossberg. Previous recipients include former presidents Barack Obama, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush; Ukraine's Zelensky; former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; and Trump nemesis and former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney.
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump set to explode as Mike Pence gets prestigious award
An MSNBC host warned Americans on Sunday that President Donald Trump is set to go ballistic as his former vice president receives a prestigious award. Mike Pence, who betrayed his commander-in-chief when he certified the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021, will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum on Sunday night for his actions that day. In announcing that Pence would receive the award - which has previously gone to former President Barack Obama and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky - the JFK Library said Pence put 'his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power,' according to Politico. Caroline Kennedy, the former president's daughter, and her son, Jack Schlossberg, also said in a statement that Pence's decision to certify the election results - even as protesters called for him to be hanged - was an 'example of President Kennedy's belief that an act of political courage can change the course of history.' But when MSNBC hosts discussed the award on The Weekend in the hours before the ceremony was set to start, Jonathan Capehart said he was 'most looking forward to' President Trump's reaction 'because it's totally going to be...'. He then stopped talking, and instead mimed Trump's head exploding. Co-host Elise Jordan agreed, acknowledging: 'Truth Social is going to be lighting up.' Trump, whose first term in office had just ended, pressured his then-vice president in January 2021 to reject election results from swing states where the Republican president claimed the vote was marred by fraud. But Pence refused, saying he lacked such authority. When he then stood before Congress on January 6 to accept the 2020 presidential election results, he and legislators from both parties were confronted by an angry mob - many of whom took specific aim at Pence for refusing to use his role to throw out the controversial Electoral College votes from the swing states. Some Trump supporters even erected makeshift gallows and chanted 'hang Mike Pence.' During the House select committee on January 6th hearings, it also came out that a confidential informant on the Proud Boys had told the FBI that if members of the group had found Pence that day they would have killed him. Still Pence refused to leave the Capitol, hiding out in a garage-like structure deemed a secure location within the complex. 'The vice president did not want to take any chance that the world would see the vice president of the United States fleeing the United States Capitol,' his counselor to the vice president Greg Jacob testified to committee members in 2022. Meanwhile, Trump continued to push what has been called the 'big lie' that he lost the election and hit out at his vice president. Pence is being honored for his actions on January 6, 2021 'Mike Pence didn´t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify,' Trump wrote at the time on X as rioters moved through the Capitol and Pence was in hiding with his family, aides and security detail inside the building. Still, Pence stayed at the US Capitol to continue the ceremonial election certification of Joe Biden 's presidential victory once the rioters were cleared. But his decisions that day left Pence in the political wilderness. He tried running against Trump for the 2024 nomination, but only stayed in the race through October 2023. Trump - the far-and-away frontrunner - wouldn't even participate in the GOP primary debates - so the two men never met onstage. Pence then refused to endorse Trump once he secured the nomination - but also wouldn't endorse the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. Instead, his political action committee financed advertisements ahead of the 2024 election pushing Americans to vote for Republicans on issues. It now remains unclear how much Pence has spoken with Trump since the January 6, 2021 certification. But last year, the president chose Ohio Sen. JD Vance, rather than Pence, to serve as his running mate for his second term in office as he continued to claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. 'Against all odds, I did great in 2016. 2016, how great was that?' Trump told graduates at the University of Alabama on Thursday night, according to the Alabama Political Reporter. 'And then I did much better in 2020,' he claimed. 'Sorry the election was rigged... it was a rigged election. And then in 2024, I made it too big to rig.' In private, though, Trump has apparently admitted he lost the 2020 election, according to comedian Bill Maher - who recently sat down with the president. 'I don't remember exactly what we were talking about, but it must have been something to do with the 2020 election because I know he used the word "lost" and I distinctly remember saying "Wow, I never thought I'd hear you say that,"' Maher recounted on his show, Real Time with Bill Maher.
04-05-2025
- Politics
Former Vice President Pence will receive the Profile in Courage Award for his actions on Jan. 6
BOSTON -- Former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his refusal to go along with President Donald Trump's efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election. The award recognizes Pence '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, when it made the announcement last month. Pence will receive the award at the JFK Library in Boston. Trump pressured Pence to reject election results from swing states where the Republican president falsely claimed the vote was marred by fraud. Pence refused, saying he lacked such authority. When a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some chanted that they wanted to 'hang Mike Pence.' Pence was whisked away by Secret Service agents, narrowly avoiding a confrontation with the rioters. 'Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify,' Trump wrote at the time on X, formerly Twitter, as rioters moved through the Capitol and Pence was in hiding with his family, aides and security detail inside the building. Pence rejected the Secret Service's advice that he leave the Capitol, staying to continue the ceremonial election certification of Democrat Joe Biden's presidential victory once rioters were cleared. The Profile in Courage Award, named for a book Kennedy published in 1957 before he became president, honors public officials who take principled stands despite the potential political or personal consequences. Previous recipients of the award include former Presidents Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford. 'Political courage is not outdated in the United States. At every level of government, leaders are putting country first, and not backing down,' Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg, JFK's daughter and grandson, both of whom will present Pence with the award, said in a statement. "His decision is an example of President Kennedy's belief that an act of political courage can change the course of history.' Pence said in a statement that he's 'deeply humbled and honored' to get the award. 'I have been inspired by the life and words of President John F. Kennedy since my youth and am honored to join the company of so many distinguished Americans who have received this recognition in the past,' Pence said. Pence has emerged as one of the few Republicans willing to take on the Trump administration. His political action group, Advancing American Freedom, campaigned against the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the nation's health agencies. He's delivered speeches urging the president to stand with longtime foreign allies and posted an article he penned more than a decade ago on the limits of presidential power after Trump claimed that, 'He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.'
