STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Former Vice President Mike Pence has received the Profiles in Courage Award. That comes from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, gets its name from a book by President Kennedy. This prize recognizes public officials who've taken what the foundation calls principled stands for unpopular positions.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Before handing Pence his prize last night, Kennedy's daughter, Caroline, hailed him for resisting pressure from President Trump and his allies. Pence certified the 2020 election results that placed Joe Biden in the White House.
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CAROLINE KENNEDY: Vice President Pence put his life and career and that of his family on the line to execute his constitutional responsibilities. His actions preserved the fundamental democratic principle of free and fair elections.
MARTIN: When rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, some were there looking for the vice president.
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UNIDENTIFIED RIOTER: Where is Pence?
UNIDENTIFIED RIOTERS: Bring him out.
UNIDENTIFIED RIOTER: Bring out Pence.
INSKEEP: But Pence refused the urgings of his security, who wanted him to leave his post at the Capitol. He spoke with me about the experience back in 2022.
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MIKE PENCE: When the tweet came across from the president saying that I lack courage, it angered me, but I really didn't have time for it. It was a moment where it was clear to me the president had decided to be a part of the problem. I was determined to be part of the solution.
MARTIN: At yesterday's ceremony, Pence also praised Democratic and Republican lawmakers for fulfilling their duties.
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PENCE: January 6 was a tragic day, but it became a triumph of freedom. And history will record that our institutions held when, after law enforcement secured the Capitol, leaders in both chambers, in both political parties, reconvened the very same day and finished democracy's work under the Constitution.
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MARTIN: Pence repeatedly invoked the Constitution as a way for the divided nation to come together.
INSKEEP: In the years since the attack on the Capitol, President Trump has criticized Pence on social media, calling him delusional and not a very good person.
MARTIN: In recent days, Pence wrote an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal praising President Trump's immigration policy and criticizing his tariffs. NPR asked the White House for comment for this story but did not hear back.
(SOUNDBITE OF BRANT BJORK'S "WAITING FOR A COCONUT TO DROP") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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