Mike Pence Reveals How He Would Like History To Remember His Jan. 6 Actions

Forbes Breaking News

At an event on Sunday in Massachusetts, former Vice President Mike Pence spoke about the riot at the Capitol on January 6th.

Transcript

00:00With some very special people.

00:03First and foremost, my beloved wife and our former Second Lady, Karen Pence.

00:17She's as strong as she is beautiful.

00:20And I've been on Team Karen for 40 years.

00:23And Caroline, I'm grateful that you mentioned that history should record that along with

00:33our daughter, Karen refused to leave the Capitol that day as well.

00:39Thank you for your service to America every day of our lives together.

00:44I love you.

00:49And secondly, to our brave daughter, Charlotte.

00:53And her husband, Navy Lieutenant Henry Bonn.

00:58To our Marine Corps son, Major Michael Pence.

01:02And his wife, Sarah.

01:05To our daughter, Audrey Pence Tominelli.

01:08And her husband, Dan.

01:11Thank you guys for your steadfast love.

01:14And for being at my side every day that we served.

01:18Including that day.

01:23And to our entire family back home in Indiana.

01:31And I remember my late father, a Korean War veteran named Ed Pence.

01:37And to my first generation Irish American mother.

01:41And I remember my father, 92 years young.

01:46Watching at home.

01:52Thanks for teaching me to love this country as much as you do, Mom.

01:56I love you.

01:57And to three men who stood by me through that fateful day.

02:07Including my brother, Congressman Greg Pence.

02:12And two remarkably principled men.

02:17Who are joining us here tonight with their spouses.

02:22My former Chief of Staff, Mark Short.

02:25My General Counsel, Greg Jacob.

02:28Stood in the pocket in those fateful days.

02:31And never wavered.

02:32If history remembers any of our service.

02:38I pray history will remember your indispensable counsel and courage.

02:45During those fateful days in the life of our nation.

02:49And finally, I want to thank the people of Indiana and America, not just for the privilege

03:07to serve and for your prayers, but for the words of encouragement over the last four

03:13years in airports and diners, stopping me on the street, people speaking a word of gratitude

03:24from every political background that I've heard over and over again, including through

03:30this special evening.

03:33Thank you all.

03:34It was my great honor to serve you.

03:43Every public servant in America takes the same oath.

03:49Place your hand on a Bible, raise your right hand.

03:56And you swear that you'll support and defend the Constitution of the United States against

04:01all enemies, foreign and domestic.

04:05You bear true faith and allegiance to the same.

04:07You take the obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.

04:11And you pledge to well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which you're about

04:18to enter.

04:22And it ends with a prayer.

04:25So help me God.

04:31My Marine Corps son once reminded me, Dad, you took the same oath I took.

04:38I love that he said.

04:39I will do it.

04:42If someone else matters.

04:42January 6th was a tragic day.

04:46But it became a triumph of freedom.

04:50And history will record that our institutions held.

04:52When, after law enforcement secured the capitol, leaders in both chambers, in both political

05:01parties, reconvened the very same day and finished democracy's work under the Constitution.

05:14Winston Churchill once said, when great forces are on the move in the world, we learn that

05:19we are spirits, not animals.

05:21There's something going on in time and space and beyond time and space, which whether we

05:26like it or not spells duty.

05:32Our institutions held that day not because of any one person, but because leaders in both

05:38political parties, Republicans and Democrats, did their duty.

05:45So I came tonight to give credit where credit is due.

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