Former Vice President Mike Pence will attend the second presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, according to a post the former vice president made on X Monday morning.
“This is a day when every American does well to celebrate our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution of the United States,” Pence wrote.
Trump’s and Pence’s relationship imploded in the aftermath of Jan. 6, 2021 after Pence refused Trump’s commands to block the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
After rioters had breached the Capitol building during the vote count, Trump posted a tweet stating that “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country [sic] and our Constitution.”
This post “immediately precipitated further violence at the Capitol,” according to the final report of the select committee investigating the attack. Rioters erected makeshift gallows and called for Pence’s execution as the then-vice president took refuge deep within the Capitol building.
President-elect Trump has vowed to pardon most Jan. 6 rioters as one of his first acts in office.
Pence and Trump weren’t seen together in public until earlier this month, when the pair shook hands at Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Former second lady Karen Pence did not greet the Trumps, IndyStar previously reported. The former vice president entered the Capitol rotunda Monday morning without his wife.
In March of last year, Pence told Fox News that he wouldn’t support Trump in the 2024 presidential election. He also declined to endorse Joe Biden.
Former Ohio senator J.D. Vance will serve as Trump’s vice president during his second term.
Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@gannett.com or (317) 800-2956.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Mike Pence will attend Trump’s second presidential inauguration
