Former Vice President Mike Pence is planning to attend President-elect Donald Trump‘s inauguration, The New York Times reported, citing two people with knowledge of the planning.
Why It Matters
The Times’ reporting comes after Trump and Pence made headlines at former President Jimmy Carter‘s state funeral last week, when they shook hands for the first time since January 6, 2021.
Newsweek reached out to Pence and Trump’s spokespersons via email for comment on Friday.
Former US Vice President Mike Pence seen shaking hands with President-elect Donald Trump at former US President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2025. Meanwhile, the New York Times is reporting that Pence plans to attend Trump’s Inauguration. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
What To Know
Pence has seen more ups and downs than perhaps anyone else in Trump’s political orbit, going from his handpicked vice president in 2016 to a MAGA pariah five years later, when he refused to help Trump overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Tensions between the two men reached a boiling point when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in January 2021 while calling for Pence’s execution.
Pence recounted the day in his memoir, So Help Me God.
“They had come to protest the result of the election and to prevent Congress from fulfilling its responsibility to open and count the Electoral College votes,” he wrote. “And, as I later learned, many had come looking for me.”
After Trump won the 2024 election, Pence put out a public statement congratulating his one-time boss.
“The American people have spoken and Karen and I send our sincere congratulations to President-Elect Donald Trump and his family on his election as 47th President of the United States,” Pence wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We also send our congratulations to Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance and his family on his election as Vice President of the United States.”
The former Indiana governor will join a long list of politicians, tech billionaires and business titans who reportedly plan on attending Trump’s inauguration.
Other big names will include:
- Former President Barack Obama.
- Former President George Bush and former first lady Laura Bush.
- Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
- Country star Carrie Underwood, who will perform “America The Beautiful.”
- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
- OpenAI chief Sam Altman.
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
- A delegation representing Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
- Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who will help oversee the Department of Government Efficiency when Trump takes office.
There are also some notable names who won’t be in attendance, including former first lady Michelle Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.
What People Are Saying
Pressley elaborated on her decision not to attend, telling USA Today: “I’ll be in town with my constituents honoring Dr. King’s legacy. I don’t think being there does that.”
What Happens Next
Trump will be inaugurated on Monday at noon and announced on Friday morning that the swearing-in ceremony has been moved to the Capitol Rotunda because of inclement weather conditions.
Many tech titans and companies poured millions into funding Trump’s inaugural events and Zuckerberg will cohost a reception for Trump on Monday evening with several Republican billionaires.
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