Former Vice President Mike Pence sat down with KSOU’s Mark Buss while in Sioux Center Wendesay, to talk about why campaigning in Iowa, particularly in Northwest Iowa, is important to him. “Iowa always plays an outsized role in shaping our nation’s leadership”, he says. “And that’ll be true again for the Republican Party in 2024. And we’re here not because Sioux County needs our encouragement, this is a place that believes in faith and family and freedom and all of our our great American traditions”.
Pence says everyone knows who he is, but they don’t really know Karen and Mike Pence. “I’ve concluded over the last few years when I’ve come to Iowa, that we’re well known, but we’re not known well,” he says. “Most people know me as Vice President, I was proud to stand beside President Donald Trump for four years as we strengthened our military, revived our economy, secured our border, and appointed conservatives to our courts. We stood shoulder to shoulder until a fateful day came, that my oath to the Constitution required me to step away, but I’m proud of that record”.
Pence says he’s campaigning to let people know who is and what he’s done. Pence served as governor of Indiana, he was a leading conservative for 12 years in the US House of Representatives, he’s the father of Marine Corps Captain, father-in-law of a Navy Lieutenant, and son of a Korean War Combat Veteran. Pence says he wants people to know Karen and Mike Pence on a personal level, not Vice President Mike Pence; he wants people to know their heart and their values. He says Iowa shares his values, and that makes him feel at home here, and he considers that a privilege.
When asked about party division in Washington DC, Pence agrees that politics are more divided than ever, but he thinks most Americans aren’t that way. “I’m not convinced the American people are as divided as our politics”, he says. “It think it will always be more that unites us in this country than could ever divide the American people”, he continued. “We’re a nation of faith. People of all different faith traditions. But we cherish faith, we cherish family, we love freedom”, he says. “I believe the government has to be as good as our people again, we’ve got to have a government that not only stands for those conservative values, but I honestly believe there’s a hunger for restoring a threshold of civility in public life”. Pence says that not long ago, you could disagree in Washington and not be disagreeable. He says there are subjects that the parties will never agree on, but there are far more subjects they can agree on as long as there is debate that allows for interaction. Pence says as it is now, things have broken down on both sides of the aisle. “I know a lot of people like to blame that on my old running mate singularly, but I can tell you, that was going on in Washington long before our administration ever arrived and it’s going on still”. Pence says the American people are ready for leadership that respects their convictions, but also leadership that demonstrates civility, a respect for others and their opinions while standing strong.
