Former Vice President Mike Pence Speaks at Villanova University
Vice President Mike Pence addresses employees via intercom Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at GE Healthcare in Madison, Wisc. (Official Archived White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen).
Former Vice President Pence spoke about the topics of the Constitution, Faith and Public Life.
Article by Ryan Hartnett, Senior White House Producer
VILLANOVA, Pa. - This afternoon, Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke to a packed room of undergraduates, law students, professors, and others in the Villanova Law School Commons.
Pence most recently served as the 48th Vice President of the United States from 2017 until 2021. Prior to the vice presidency, Pence was elected in 2013 as the 50th governor of the state of Indiana. Pence also served six terms in the United States House of Representatives from 2000-2012.
The presentation, titled “A Conversation on the Constitution, Faith and Public Life with Vice President Mike Pence”, highlighted the political experience of Pence, his take on the upcoming Presidential election and his opinion on issues around the United States and the world.
Pence was joined on stage by Michael Moreland, the Director of the McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy, who served as the moderator of this discussion. Pence began his conversation by speaking about the Constitution and its importance to the United States.
“I credit the Constitution and this form of government for what we’ve created,” said Pence, “The oath to the constitution is not just a promise to the people of Pennsylvania or the people of this country, but it is a promise that ends with a prayer ‘So Help Me God’.”
Pence encouraged all the students in attendance who are interested in serving in the United States military or serving in public office, that they will apply the Constitution to defend our country and keep their oath to the Constitution.
“I hope your passion for supporting and defending the constitution continues,” said Pence, “And we need men and women like all of you who will keep their oath to the constitution.”
Pence then spoke about how important of a role his faith played in his role as a politician and how faith influenced some of the views he believes in to this day.
“One of two ways I use faith in my role is that Faith requires me to do unto others, the same way others have done unto me.”
Pence spoke of how he started his political career and didn’t use his core belief of faith to his advantage and said he ended up losing not just a good amount of elections but also a significant amount of self respect.
“I started with a different world view and a different way of campaigning that lost me more than just a handful of races” said Pence reflecting on how he changed his strategy in campaigning for office, “For me protecting the cause and sanctity of life is how I managed to define and portray my views.”
One of the topics that audience members had the chance to ask about prior to the conversation taking place was Pence’s thoughts on the January 6th insurrection.
Pence spoke of how important it was to keep his oath even when it hurts as he focused on fulfilling his oath to the constitution. He compared his job as Vice President to how Al Gore did back in 2001 when he was Vice President presiding over the certification of the Electoral College results despite losing to George W. Bush in 2000.
Pence did say to the audience that although the day was a tragic one, it was ultimately a day that he hopes is remembered for the resilience of our institutions.
“As I said when we reconvened in the Senate that night, I said ‘and now the world will witness Republicans and Democrats reconvene on the very same day to complete the work of the American People under the Constitution of the United States’ and we did our work” said Pence regarding the peaceful transition of power
“It was the greatest privilege of my life to be Vice President of the United States…” Pence said, “...but at the end of the day I will always know in my heart of hearts that we did our duty that day.”