Vice PresidentMike Penceshowed up in person to support PresidentJoe Bidenand Vice PresidentKamala Harrisas the leaders of the new administration were sworn in Wednesday.
Pence, 61, attended Biden’s inauguration at the U.S. Capitol, exactly two weeksafter the violent riotson Jan. 6 that PresidentDonald Trumpincited that led to his second impeachment.
Pence and former Second Lady Karen Pence, his wife, were formally introduced at the event, as were the former presidents in attendance.
After the ceremonies concluded at the Capitol, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, were seen chatting and laughing with the Pences. While Pence had echoed some of Trump’s lies about the election the pair lost, he broke with Trump over trying to stop the certification of Biden’s win.
PresidentsBarack Obama,George W. BushandBill Clinton, as well as former First LadiesMichelle Obama,Laura BushandHillary Clintonwere also at the ceremony. (Former PresidentJimmy Carterand his wife Rosalynn sent their well-wishes from afar, not attending the inauguration ceremony for the first time in 44 years.)
Pence politely nodded his head “hello” to the Obamas and the Clintons, who greeted the Pences after they were announced and exited the Capitol building.
In his final message to the public Tuesday night, the former vice president said “it has been the greatest honor of my life” to serve in the White House.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser previously asked the public to not attend the inauguration due to the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemicand public safety concerns in the aftermath of the Capitol riot.
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News of Pence’s appearance at the swearing-in ceremony was first reported on Jan. 9, hours after Twitter, the social media platformthat permanently suspended Trump’s account, blocked the threatening phrase “Hang Mike Pence” from trending due to disturbing videos, some of which showed insurrectionists chanting the phrase during the Capitol riots.
A senior administration official toldCNNandThe Hilllast week that Trump and Pence spoke in the Oval Office on Jan. 11. Theyreportedly had gone days without speakingfollowing the riots and previous tension regarding Trump’s pressuring Pence to illegally use his position as vice president to overturn the 2020 election results.
“The two had a good conversation, discussing the week ahead and reflecting on the last four years of the administration’s work and accomplishments,” the official told the outlets.
Donald Trump (L); Mike Pence.Getty (2)
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Biden and Harris made history on Wednesday upon their swearing-in, shortly before noon. Harris became thefirst woman in U.S. history to take the vice presidency, as well as the first Black person and first person of Asian descent to hold the office.
Despite some officials expressing security concerns surrounding their inauguration in light of theviolent riots in the U.S. Capitol buildingearlier this month, Biden said he was not concerned about taking the oath of office outside.
“I’mnot afraid of taking the oath outside,” he told reporters on Jan. 11, after publicly receiving his second coronavirus vaccine dose at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware.
“I think it’s critically important that there be a real serious focus on holding those folks who engaged in sedition and threatened people’s lives, defaced public property, caused great damage, that they be held accountable,” Biden added.
source: people.com
