'Pence found his spine': Former VP praised on social media after refusing to endorse Trump

Former Vice President Mike Pence turned plenty of heads during a Fox News interview on Friday in which he flatly told host Martha McCallum that he would not be endorsing former President Donald Trump's third bid for the White House.

"We have not heard from you. Will you be endorsing your former president?" McCallum asked. "You were on a ticket with him last time around."

"Well, Martha, I appreciate the question," Pence said after a pause. "And it should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year."

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But Pence's interview surprised many on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter), who heaped praise on the former Indiana governor for being one of a scant few Republicans refusing to hop on board the Trump train in 2024.

Washington Post political reporter Aaron Blake tweeted that Pence's refusal to endorse his old boss is "obviously very significant," adding that he is taking "a very different approach from others like Kemp/Sununu etc., who basically said they have to pick a side." He noted that during one of last year's Republican presidential primary debates, "Pence raised his hand when candidates were asked if they'd support even a convicted Trump. That's changed."

Others were less surprised, like former CIA operative John Sipher, who opined "I think we are so beaten down that we aren't shocked that the former President's own Vice President is against him." University College London professor Brian Klaas observed: "The people who worked most closely with Trump almost universally think he should be nowhere near the White House." And MSNBC host Katie Phang was effusive in her praise, tweeting "Pence found his spine again."

Pence fell out of favor with Trump on January 6, 2021, when he refused to use his position as the presiding officer over the US Senate's counting of Electoral College votes to declare Trump the winner. After Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in an effort to disrupt Congress' certification of the 2020 election, Pence was whisked away by Secret Service agents to a hidden location. During the capitol siege, Trump refused to call off his supporters, and faulted Mike Pence in a tweet, saying he "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done." January 6 insurrectionists even built a gallows outside of the capitol building and chanted "hang Mike Pence" as they roamed the halls of Congress.

READ MORE: (Opinion) Mike Pence confirms the end of conservatism

However, Pence tried until the very end to keep Trump in power despite him losing both the Electoral College majority and the popular vote to Joe Biden. The book Peril, by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, described an exchange between Pence and former Vice President Dan Quayle, whom Pence was in close contact with toward the end of the Trump administration. In their conversation, Pence pressed Quayle repeatedly, asking him about any legal way to use his powers to keep Trump in office. When Quayle told him there was no way to do it, Pence pushed back, saying "you don't know the position I'm in."

"‘I do know the position you're in," Quayle told Pence. "I also know what the law is. You listen to the parliamentarian. That’s all you do. You have no power."

Other political observers on X attributed Pence's refusal to endorse the 45th president of the United States to the crowds of angry Trump supporters calling for his neck. Mother Jones journalist David Corn tweeted that Pence not endorsing Trump was a "brave move," pointing out that Trump "almost got him killed." Independent journalist Marcy Wheeler summed up McCallum's initial question by writing "Donald Trump almost got you assassinated. Will you put that behind you in the name of Republican solidarity?" X user @thetrueshelby was more succinct, tweeting "he did try and hang him, y'all."

Still, former Obama administration official Anthony Coley lauded Pence for his lack of endorsement, writing that "more conservative voices — people who are known and respected by the GOP base — need to follow suit and speak out against the grave danger Trump poses to our democracy" in order to "break the fever that is Trumpism."

READ MORE: These 5 bombshell revelations from Pence's special counsel interviews reveal 'he's no hero'

Watch the video of Pence's remarks on Fox News below, or by clicking this link.