Former Vice President Mike Pence will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his refusal to go along with President Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election, Kennedy’s family announced Thursday.
The award recognizes Pence “for putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on Jan. 6, 2021,” the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum said.
Trump pressured Pence to reject election results from swing states where the Republican president falsely claimed the vote was marred by fraud. Pence refused, saying he lacked such authority.
When a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some chanted that they wanted to “hang Mike Pence.” Pence was whisked away by Secret Service agents, narrowly avoiding a confrontation with the rioters.
“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,” Trump wrote on Twitter, as rioters moved through the Capitol and Pence was in hiding with his family, aides and security detail inside the building.
Pence rejected the Secret Service’s advice that he leave the Capitol, staying to continue the ceremonial election certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election victory once rioters were cleared.
Two years ago, Pence said Trump’s “reckless words endangered my family.”
The Profile in Courage Award, named for a book Kennedy published in 1957, before he became president, honors public officials who take principled stands despite the potential political or personal consequences.
“His decision is an example of President Kennedy’s belief that an act of political courage can change the course of history,” Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg, JFK’s daughter and grandson, said in a statement.
Pence said in a statement he’s “deeply humbled and honored” to get 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 award will be presented May 4 at the JFK library in Boston.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.