Two weeks after pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building calling for his death, former Vice President Mike Pence helped bolster the image of a peaceful transfer of power, skipping a farewell ceremony for former President Donald Trump and instead joining incoming President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the U.S. Capitol for their inauguration.
Pence applauded Harris as she arrived at the event.
But signs of the Jan. 6 chaos that forced Pence and Harris into hiding were evident in the perimeter fences barricading the events and close to 25,000 National Guard troops protecting the vicinity. Though attendees stood outside for the ceremony, they were surrounded by the open spaces of the National Mall, a departure from the crowds that typically pack the space.
The largely peaceful day was a victory for Pence, who resisted Trump’s pressure to overturn the election as he presided over the Electoral College vote count in a joint session of Congress.
Harris and Biden took their oaths of office in the same place that a crowd strung up a noose and gallows earlier this month. On that day, Trump appeared to set his supporters on his vice president as lawmakers prepared to certify the electoral vote, then failed to call off a riotous mob, including some chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” until well after the situation spiraled out of control.
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify,” Trump tweeted on Jan. 6.
His treatment of Pence on that day angered conservatives.
On Wednesday, he was the most senior Trump administration official in attendance. Biden had said Pence was “welcome” at the events but was pleased Trump would not be there.
Pence called Harris last week to offer his congratulations, marking the first time the two had spoken since the vice presidential debate before the election. He also offered Harris his assistance in her new role, putting a finer point on his effort to bridge the gap between the two administrations.
As the ceremony ended, Harris walked Pence to a motorcade, ushering in a return to civilian life of sorts. It was a symbolic picture of the peaceful transition that the events of the last month appeared to call into question.
As is tradition, Pence also left a note for Harris on his desk in the West Wing, according to Bloomberg.
In another break with Trump, instead of leaving Washington on Air Force Two, Pence took a small government plane to his hometown of Columbus, Indiana. Trump flew earlier to Mar-a-Lago aboard Air Force One.
The former Indiana governor was greeted by supporters and friends on his return after the flight. He hasn’t announced his next steps but is expected to pursue something in the private sector.
Pence, who certified Biden and Harris’s electoral win in Congress earlier this month, praised the country’s resilience in remarks on Sunday.
“I have faith that the day will come where we put these challenging times behind us,” he said in his final speech as vice president.
