BOSTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday 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.
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 JFK Library Foundation said, when it made the announcement last month. Pence will receive the award at the JFK Library in Boston.
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 at the time on X, formerly 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 victory once rioters were cleared.
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. Previous recipients of the award include former Presidents Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford.
''Political courage is not outdated in the United States. At every level of government, leaders are putting country first, and not backing down,'' Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg, JFK's daughter and grandson, both of whom will present Pence with the award, said in a statement. "His decision is an example of President Kennedy's belief that an act of political courage can change the course of history.''
Pence said in a statement that he's ''deeply humbled and honored'' to get the award.
