Are Trump and Mike Pence friends again? Former VP 'harbors no hard feelings' despite being endangered on Jan 6
Former Vice President Mike Pene may have been terrified for his life when he was rushed out of the U.S. Senate to protect his life on January 6, as rioters stormed the Capitol complex chanting "hang Mike Pence." However, it appears that Pence has let bygones be bygones a few weeks after the siege.
According to a report by CNN, Pence "harbors no hard feelings toward Donald Trump" and plans to launch an organization "defending the successful Trump-Pence record of the last four years."
"He spoke very favorably about his relationship with President Trump," Indiana Republican Jim Banks told CNN. "I got the sense they speak often and maintain the same personal friendship and relationship now that they have for four years."
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Pence and Trump have spoken twice since Joe Biden's inauguration last month, CNN reported on Monday citing Banks. The former vice president, who declined an invitation to speak at the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference meeting in Florida, is expected to be more visible in the coming months. "He'll be launching an organization defending the successful Trump-Pence record of the last four years," Banks told the outlet.
Pence reportedly told lawmakers that the current political landscape is similar to 2009, when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress as well as the White House. "He talked about how in 2009, the new Democrat President, Democrat House, Democrat Senate -- how similar that moment was to this moment," Banks said. "A massive spending deal Democrats pushed in 2009 that overreached, every single [House] Republican voted against in 2009. That sure looks like the $1.9 trillion bill that's on the floor this week."
"The more Democrats overreach, the more likely we are going to have a 2010 type midterm to win back the majority. He sort of senses the similarity in that moment to this moment," Banks added.
On January 6, Trump attacked Pence on Twitter for lacking "courage" as the former VP certified Biden's Electoral College victory. "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. USA demands the truth!" Trump tweeted at the time.
On January 11, it emerged that Trump and Pence had spoken for the first time since the riots, which ended with a death toll of five people, including a DC police officer. According to CNN, Pence and Trump had a "good conversation" that day as they reflected "on the last four years of the administration's work and accomplishments."
The source, a senior administration official, was quoted as saying, "They reiterated that those who broke the law and stormed the Capitol last week do not represent the America First movement backed by 75 million Americans, and pledged to continue the work on behalf of the country for the remainder of their term."