Mike Pence, the 48th Vice President of the United States, has been a political figure since the last two decades. Born and raised in Columbus, Indiana, Pence is a ‘principled conservative,’ in his own words. Pence was the 50th Governor of Indiana and is best known for his conservative political positions on abortion, sex education, and LGBT rights.
Mike Pence went to Hanover College and later, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, after which he started a private practice as an attorney. He lost his first two congressional campaigns in 1988 and 1990, after which he ventured in the media space till 2000 when he finally won the congressional campaign.
While Pence’s political views are widely known, he’s relatively quiet about other matters. Unlike in the case of President Donald Trump, not much is known about Pence’s personal life. Let’s go over some interesting facts about his personal life that you may not have come across before.
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The Pence Family was in the Gas Station Business
Pence was born and raised in Columbus, Indiana, in a family of six children. Mike Pence’s parents – Ann Jane and Edward Joseph Pence Jr. – ran a group of gas stations. His father was a celebrated veteran of the Korean War, and Pence proudly displays the Bronze medal and commendation letter in his office.
He’s Christian
Pence openly accepts he is Christian, and faith plays a big role in his life. On his personal website, his favourite book is listed as The Holy Bible. Pence has never shied away from the obvious link between his religious beliefs and political agendas. His Christian beliefs are evident even in his political opinions and policies – his opposition to same-sex marriage, his repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell’ policy, and his opposition to abortion.
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He Works Hard on His Marriage
Mike Pence married his future wife Karen Pence at the St. Thomas Aquinas Church. They dated for nine months, became engaged in 1984, and got married in 1985. The couple has been together for over three decades now and there is a reason why their marriage has remained rock solid. Both Karen and Mike follow a very strict set of rules that guide their marriage. For instance, when Karen isn’t around Pence does not attend parties where alcohol flows freely. Similarly, he never dines alone with women. Well, given how controversies erupt during presidential campaigns, it is a good thing that Mike Pence is staying extra careful. More importantly, it is rather sweet that he does these things to make his wife feel loved and important.
His Wife was An Elementary School Teacher
Pence’s wife, Karen, was an elementary school teacher for about 25 years before she quit to take the role of Indiana’s first lady. She holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Elementary Education from Butler University. As the first lady of Indiana, she established the Indiana First Lady’s Charitable Foundation, which aims to help families and the youth across the state. Karen is also an award-winning watercolor artist, and as the second lady of the United States, she is working to raise awareness about art therapy. In line with this, she has conducted many programs across countries around the world.
He Was a Radio Talk Show Host
Today, it’s no secret that Mike Pence is an effective orator; he can move any audience once he starts talking. But a lot of his skill can be traced back to his media experience.
In 1988, Rushville, Indiana’s WRCR-FM radio station roped in Pence to host the show Washington Update with Mike Pence, a weekly half-hour show. This was just after Pence’s first congressional campaign, in which he ran against Philip Sharp and lost. Later, in 1992, he started hosting The Mike Pence Show, a daily show, on the same radio station. By 1994, the show became a state-wide phenomenon reaching 18 stations. In 1995, Pence decided to expand beyond radio, and he started hosting a TV morning show. The Mike Pence Show ended in 1999 when Pence decided to focus on the 2000 congressional campaign. There’s little doubt that the show’s popularity and reach did much to boost his image.
He Almost Got Into the News Business
In 2015, when Pence was governor of Indiana, he was considering establishing a state-run news service in the state. The JustIN website was ridiculed with fervor, with many comparing it with state-run media in China and North Korea. Naturally, Pence was quick to pull the plug on it after a week’s deliberation. Moreover, he went on to disassociate from the idea altogether, considering the flack it received. Pence also assured the state’s press release system and the state calendar would be updated instead.
He Once Accidentally Hit a Kid Who Later Demanded an Apology
In 2017, as part of the National Military Spouse Appreciation Day celebrations, Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, organized a dinner for the military families at the White House. Everything was going well. However, towards the end of the evening, Pence became quite excited while giving the appreciation speech and extended his right arm a little too far and accidentally hit a kid. Though the kid stayed quiet and let Vice President Pence complete his speech, he approached him later and told the Vice President that he owed him an apology. What a brave kid and of course, Pence apologised to the kid.
His Favorite Superhero is Superman
Be it a politician or an average Joe, everyone loves superheroes, and almost all of us have a favorite since childhood. On Pence’s personal website, his favorite superhero is listed as Superman. There are a whole lot many other interesting tidbits on the site as well, including his favorite colors (blue and gold) and ice cream (Moose Tracks).
He Loves
The Wizard of Oz
Surprisingly, Pence’s favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz. Apparently, the vice president enjoys the American musical fantasy film, which is regarded as one of the best movies of all time. While the movie is an American classic, it’s hard to imagine the Pences sitting together with popcorn on a Saturday night and enjoying it.
On the other hand, Pence is definitely not a fan of the animated film Mulan. Back when Pence was a radio talk show host, he wrote an op-ed stating Mulan was liberal propaganda and argued against the point of women in the military.
He Once Changed a Bill to Please the LGBT Community
As the governor of Indiana, Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This decision of Pence drew great criticism from the LGBT community as well as various other quarters of the society as people thought that the law would give freedom to businesses to discriminate against the LGBT community. Thus, Pence made several revisions to the bill to ensure that the LGBT community was not at risk.
Mike Pence Originally Supported Texas Senator Ted Cruz
Mike Pence wasn’t always keen on becoming Trump’s running mate. He was actually supporting Ted Cruz, the senator for Texas since 2013. However, Pence is a smart politician and he maintained a friendly camaraderie with Trump since the very beginning. In fact, in 2016, Pence publicly praised Trump’s decision to speak against Carrier, the air-conditioning manufacturing company, for closing facilities in Indianapolis and shifting jobs to Mexico.
He Has Some Controversies to His Credit
Though Pence is quite careful around women, it turns out he is not that cautious around money. During his 1990 campaign, a young Mike Pence found himself in the middle of a huge controversy when it came to light that he had used close to $12,000 from his campaign money to fund personal expenses, such as his monthly mortgage and his wife’s car payment loan. Though using the campaign money was not illegal at the time, it definitely was a setback to his image. Mike was on his way to victory but due to this one scandal, he lost with a significant origin.
He Lost Twice Before Finally Winning His First Election in 2000
After graduation from Hanover College with a Bachelor’s degree in History, Pence decided to move to Indianapolis and pursue a degree in law from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law. He received his Juris Doctor in 1986 and began practicing law. However, Pence had always been inclined towards politics. Therefore, in 1988, he ran against Democratic candidate Philip Sharp but lost the election. Pence once against filed his nomination in 1990. This time, he quit his job to focus solely on the campaign. However, his candidature became mired in controversy and he lost the election to Sharp once again. However, Pence finally got lucky in 2000. He was elected to the United States Congress and represented Indiana’s 2nd and 6th congressional districts between 2001 and 2013.
He Is an Animal Lover
After Trump won the elections, for the first time in over 100 years the White House had a President who did not have a dog. However, Mike Pence more than makes up for Trump’s lack of love for animals. The current Vice President is a big animal lover. He, in particular, has a special liking for cats. The Pence family has two cats named Pickle and Orea. Unfortunately, Orea breathed his last in 2017. After that, Pence’s wife and daughter brought him a puppy, who they named Harley and a kitten, who they named Hazel. However, Pence’s most famous pet is his bunny named Marlon Bundo. Pence’s pet rabbit is actually a social media celebrity and is known as BOTUS (Bunny of the United States) on Instagram.
He Has A Son and Two Daughters
Mike and Karen have a son, Michael, and two daughters, Charlotte and Audrey. Michael, the eldest of the three, has completed the Marine Corps basic training. 1st Lt. Michael Pence was one of seven naval aviators to receive Wings of Gold at the Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi, in 2018. The elder daughter, Charlotte Pence Bond, is a writer while the youngest, Audrey Pence, is a law student at Yale. Audrey also has a penchant for writing, but she chose to follow in her father’s footsteps with a law career.
Those were a few expected and unexpected facts about the intriguing personal life of Mike Pence. Did we miss any interesting ones? If yes, please leave a comment, we would love to hear from you. If you liked this video, don’t forget to hit the like and subscribe buttons and the bell icon to stay updated with our latest videos on more such interesting facts.
