Former Vice President Mike Pence will deliver his first speech since Inauguration Day to a Christian nonprofit organization.
Pence is scheduled to serve as the keynote speaker at a dinner next month hosted by the Palmetto Family Council in Columbia, South Carolina.
The former vice president will address a crowd of between 450 and 600 ticketed guests at an annual fundraising dinner at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center on April 29 at 7 p.m.
WITHOUT TRUMP, PENCE SHOOTS TO TOP OF 2024 POLL OF REPUBLICAN VOTERS
Dave Wilson, the president of the Palmetto Family, applauded Pence’s plans to participate, saying he will show present and future generations how to become active in the political sphere.
“One of the important things for us is a recognition of what he brings to the conversation when it comes to speaking about things from a biblical worldview perspective. His experience in the White House, the way that he interacted with public policy and the things that went on were extremely important when we look at his influence into policies that were going on, and we want him to be able to share that,” he told the Washington Examiner in a phone call on Monday. “We believe in the marketplace of ideas, and we want to have as much opportunity for folks to be able to come and to speak to folks on the issues that are important to them so that the people of South Carolina can hear from national leaders.”
Wilson said South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster will most likely attend, as well as members of the U.S. House and Senate, depending on the congressional voting calendar.
“It’s important for voters across South Carolina to hear from various elected officials,” he added, calling the event “an opportunity for conservatives across South Carolina to be able to hear from conservative leaders on conservative issues.”
Since leaving office, Pence has kept a relatively low profile. Upon his arrival back in Indiana on Jan. 20, the state’s former governor delivered a brief public message in which he thanked the former president and his wife, Melania, for “all they have done to make America great again.”
Pence then declined an invitation to address the Conservative Political Action Conference, reportedly at the behest of former President Donald Trump, who told confidants he would refuse to address the conference if Pence attended.
Despite the reports of tension between the pair since Pence certified President Biden’s electoral victory over Trump on Jan. 6, the two have “spoken frequently” since the end of the Trump administration, with Pence telling Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks they “have maintained a close relationship.”
An adviser to Trump appeared to reinforce this perceived closeness, dismissing reports that Trump will drop Pence from a potential 2024 ticket as “fake news.”
“This is fake news. No such conversations are happening,” Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the former president’s reelection campaign, said.
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Representatives for the Heritage Foundation, where Pence currently serves as a distinguished fellow, did not immediately reply to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment.
