Joe Biden and Kamala Harris faced harsh boos during President Trump’s inauguration, but their supporters reserved their harshest criticism for a once-close ally of the Republicans.
Former Vice President Mike Pence was jeered by Trump’s supporters watching proceedings being broadcast into the Capital One Arena in Washington DC.
Video from inside the arena showed Trump fans roundly booing President Biden and Vice President Harris as they entered the Capitol.
It comes as…
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was also jeered as his entrance was announced just before Biden and Harris entered the room.
But the level of spite directed at lifelong Republican and former Vice President Mike Pence took many watching on by surprise.
Sharing a video of the boos was Fox LA anchor Elex Michaelson.
“Loud boos from the crowd at Capital One Arena for former Vice President Mike Pence,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The boos for Pence were as loud as for any of the Democrats.”
NBC News’s Tom Llamas said the “loudest boos” were reserved for Pence, rather than for President Biden or the other Democrats in attendance.
However, The Hill reported that Pence was given a standing ovation by attendees at the official inauguration.
Mike Pence had a falling out with Trump during the 2020 election when he declined to support the former president’s efforts to overturn the results on January 6, 2021.
Trump publicly criticized his vice president on social media, claiming Pence lacked the bravery to challenge the certification of the electoral college votes.
After some of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol, chants of “Hang Mike Pence” were heard from some of the mob.
KAREN STAYS AWAY
Although Trump’s former VP was in attendance, his wife, Karen Pence, was not.
It comes days after she refused to greet Trump during the funeral of Jimmy Carter.
Footage from that day showed Pence shaking hands with Donald and Melania in Washington DC’s National Cathedral.
But Karen remained seated and looked straight ahead as she refused to speak to either the president-elect or his wife.
Pence previously addressed the fallout with the former president in a 2023 speech.
Speaking at the Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington DC, Pence said that “President Trump was wrong.”
Biden’s future after leaving the White House
AFTER 50 years working in politics, Americans may think that Joe Biden is finally ready to enjoy his retirement.
However, the president has stressed that he isn’t going anywhere.
At 82-years-old Biden is the oldest president in American history, but instead of putting his feet up at his home in Maryland with wife Jill, he said he’s “not going away.”
“There’s so many other things I want to do in terms of the Biden Institute and foreign policy, and the Biden Institute in Delaware on domestic policy,” he said in a September interview with The View.
“To keep the things going that we started, and I think we can get it done.”
Biden is said to also have big plans to build a presidential library in his name, presumably in his home state of Delaware.
At least one Biden administration ambassador was enlisted to help fundraise that project, according to the Associated Press.
Like many presidents before him, Biden will likely enjoy higher approval ratings after his exit as well.
His unpopularity hit a historic low during his final months, but as he fades into the background, people will likely remember him more fondly.
Many of his other endeavors will likely be secret. Because of his advanced age, he almost certainly won’t hold another office and will guide the Democratic Party in private.
As reported by ABC News, Pence said, “I had no right to overturn the election.
“And his [Trump’s] reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
Pence also unsuccessfully challenged Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, but was soundly rejected by Republicans.
He declined to endorse Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election, explaining his decision in an interview with FOX News last March.
“Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years,” he said at the time.
“And that’s why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign.”
