Former Vice President Mike Pence will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on Sunday night.
Pence, who served as President Donald Trump’s vice president from 2017 to 2021, will be honored for certifying the 2020 election and going against Trump’s efforts to stay in power after then-former Vice President Joe Biden defeated him.
The award will be given to the former vice president for “putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on January 6, 2021,” an April press release from the foundation reads.
Trump pressured Pence to reject the election results from swing states where the president falsely claimed votes were improper due to fraud, according to the Associated Press.
Pence refused, saying he did not have any authority to do so. On Jan. 6, 2021, the day the election was to be certified by Congress, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, with some chanting, “hang Mike Pence.” A makeshift gallows with a noose was present at the riot.
During the insurrection, Pence was escorted away by Secret Service Agents, avoiding contact with the mob.
As the riot was underway, Trump wrote on X that, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify,”
In the aftermath of the insurrection, Pence has defended his actions, saying he had no right to overturn the election.
“My former running mate continues to insist that I had the right to overturn the election,” Pence said in 2023 during his run for president. “President Trump was wrong then. He’s wrong now.”
The Profile in Courage Award is named after a book that Kennedy published in 1957 before he was president. It honors public officials who stand up for their principles despite the potential for personal or political ramifications.
Presenting the award to Pence are Caroline Kennedy, daughter of John F. Kennedy, and Jack Schlossberg, the former president’s grandson.
“Political courage is not outdated in the United States. At every level of government, leaders are putting country first, and not backing down,” the two said in a statement. “Despite our political differences, it is hard to imagine an act of greater consequence than Vice President Pence’s decision to certify the 2020 presidential election during an attack on the U.S. Capitol. Upholding his oath to the Constitution and following his conscience, the Vice President put his life, career, and political future on the line.”
In his own statement, Pence said he was humbled to receive the award.
“I have been inspired by the life and words of President John F. Kennedy since my youth and am honored to join the company of so many distinguished Americans who have received this recognition in the past,” Pence said.
The former vice president will be the only Profile in Courage Award recipient on Sunday night.
The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award is presented annually by the JFK Library Foundation to public servants for making a courageous decision of conscience without regard for the personal or professional consequences, according to the foundation’s website.
A live stream of the event beginning at 8:30 can be viewed here.
