Former Vice President Mike Pence said last week it “took my breath away” when he learned, in the moments after it happened, of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
During a conversation with conservative talk radio host Erick Erickson at the host’s annual conference, “The Gathering,” in Atlanta, Pence said his immediate reaction to the attempt on Trump’s life was to pray for the two-time Republican presidential nominee.
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“Karen and I, we were in a plane,” he said, referring to his wife, the former second lady. “We’d just landed and I got a text from someone watching it in real time. It took my breath away. When I heard the shot had come from 150 yards away — having lived with Secret Service for four years — I couldn’t believe it.”
Pence went on to say he “truly admired” the way Trump stood with his fist in the air after one of the assassin’s bullets nicked the former president’s ear.
“But I just reached over on that airplane and grabbed Karen’s hand and said, ‘We’re gonna pray right now,'” the former vice president recalled of the July 13 afternoon. “Because, while they were reporting that he had gotten off safe, I knew [President Ronald] Reagan didn’t know he was shot when they put him in the limo. And we just prayed earnestly and we urged people around the country to pray.”
Pence also used his time with Erickson to talk about his relationship with Trump when the two men were working together in the White House.
He recalled always sitting to the right of the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office during meetings.
“I never gave my opinion to the president — except on a few occasions — in front of anyone else,” Pence said. “I thought, as vice president, I owed him my opinion, but in private, because, unless it was a matter of moral or constitutional principle, whatever the president decided was the right decision, right? That’s the role of the vice president.”
The former vice president added, though, there were many occasions during which Trump would glance over at him after someone shared an idea about an issue, looking for a subtle indication of Pence’s perspective on the matter. Pence joked he’d just shake his head and Trump would say, “Let’s talk later.”
Pence described Trump as someone who, for four years, was his “friend,” admitting, “It’s part of what made the way our administration ended much more difficult, because we developed a close working relationship.”
The former vice president was alluding to the breakdown in his relationship with Trump. The affection between the two men quickly soured in the aftermath of the riot that ended in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Pence certified the 2020 presidential election in now-President Joe Biden’s favor.
Trump, who has argued the 2020 election was illegally manipulated by the Democratic Party, believes he was betrayed by Pence, whom he claimed possessed the authority to overturn the results of the election. Pence has said Trump “is wrong” and that he had “no right” to reverse the election’s outcome.
“I’ve said before and I’ll say again: I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished for the American people,” Pence told Erickson. “Because that relationship worked.”
Offering an insight into how Trump thinks, Pence said the former president’s “favorite term is common sense,” explaining he’s “not someone who necessarily feels drawn to the term ‘conservative'” because it’s “not a part of his lexicon.”
“But he listens,” Pence added. “I saw the way the president listened intently as leaders came in to speak about the right to life, as leaders came in to speak about the importance of broad-based tax relief.”
You can listen to more of Pence’s remarks in the video above.
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