Former Vice President Mike Pence invoked the Constitution, noting that it binds Americans “across time and generations,” while accepting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on Sunday.
“To forge a future together, we have to find common ground,” Pence said, according to ABC News. “I hope in some small way my presence here tonight is a reminder that whatever differences we may have as Americans, the Constitution is the common ground on which we stand. It’s what binds us across time and generations. …. It’s what makes us one people.”
Pence’s remarks come just hours after President Trump indicated skepticism in an interview about his need to follow the Constitution in deportation cases. The president was asked whether he must uphold the Constitution for deportations, and Trump replied, “I don’t know.” Trump also said he was unsure and was “not a lawyer” when asked if citizens and noncitizens are entitled to due process.
The former vice president was in Boston to accept the award for his refusal to allow Trump’s efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election to proceed. It was given in honor of Pence “putting his life and career on the line” to ensure the constitutional transfer of power was seen through on Jan. 6, 2021.
Pence did not mention Trump during his speech at the event, but he acknowledged the current administration several times by saying “these divided times, in these anxious days,” ABC reported.
He noted that he has differences from the Democrats in the room but also differed from the Republican Party over spending, tariffs and the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Despite our political differences, it is hard to imagine an act of greater consequence than Vice President Pence’s decision to certify the 2020 presidential election during an attack on the U.S. Capitol. Upholding his oath to the Constitution and following his conscience, the Vice President put his life, career, and political future on the line,” Caroline Kennedy and her son Jack Schlossberg said in a statement.
Pence told the audience on Sunday that he did his duty on Jan. 6 to support the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution. He said it was a “tragic day” that became a “triumph of freedom.”
“History will record that our institutions held,” he said, per ABC. “Leaders in both chambers, in both political parties, reconvened the very same day and finished democracy’s work under the Constitution.”
The award is given to public officials who make courageous decisions without regard for their personal or professional consequences. It’s awarded by the JFK Library Foundation annually. Former award-winners include former Presidents Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford.
Since departing Trump’s side, Pence has become a vocal critic of the president and has campaigned against the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the Department of Health and Human Services secretary. He’s often been a target of Trump’s since Jan. 6, with the president criticizing him for having a lack of courage to “protect our Country and Constitution.”
Trump has received criticism from Democrats after his remark about the Constitution on Sunday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said it’s “as un-American as it gets.”
