Pence Fuels Theory That Wife Intentionally Gave Trump Cold Shoulder
The former vice president revealed the details of his interaction with the president-elect at Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Mike Pence poured fuel on the theory that his wife intentionally snubbed Donald Trump at Jimmy Carter’s funeral this week.
The former vice president seemed to obliquely hint at Karen Pence’s disdain for the president-elect when asked about her failure to acknowledge Trump and his wife, Melania, in an interview with Christianity Today.
“You’d have to ask my wife about her posture,” he said, “but we’ve been married 44 years, and she loves her husband, and her husband respects her deeply.”
The biggest names in American politics gathered for Carter’s funeral.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Pence was Trump’s vice president during his first term, but the pair fell out after Pence refused to support Trump’s efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.
Carter’s service was the first time they had come face to face since leaving office in January 2021.
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The two were observed exchanging a handshake, but now Pence has revealed to Christianity Today what was actually said.
Karen Pence wants nothing to do with Donald or Melania Trump. pic.twitter.com/VJB14nzOhR
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 9, 2025
“He greeted me when he came down the aisle,” Pence recalled. “I stood up, extended my hand. He shook my hand. I said, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President,’ and he said, ‘Thanks, Mike.’”
Pence’s wife, however, didn’t rise—or even look in the president-elect’s general direction—when Trump approached. She did, though, greet former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush.
Karen Pence wasn’t the only politician’s spouse under scrutiny at the event. Former First Lady Michelle Obama, who was supposed to sit next to the president-elect, was notably absent.
Trump and Obama continue their extended conversation pic.twitter.com/NWZLVn5xsy
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 9, 2025
Her spokesperson told Politico that she was in Hawaii, missing the service due to a scheduling conflict.
Her husband, former President Barack Obama, filled her spot instead—laughing while he chatted with the man whom he has often decried.
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