Mike Pence Weighs in on J.D. Vance: 'We Haven't Ever Spoken'

In an interview with Ali Vitali for MS NOW on Thursday, April 23, former Vice President Mike Pence confirmed that he has never spoken to current Vice President J.D. Vance.

During the segment on Way Too Early, Pence stated, "We haven’t ever spoken," adding that Vance has never reached out to him for advice despite both serving as vice presidents under Donald Trump.

Vitali expressed surprise that the two had not connected, noting that Pence is the only other person who understands the unique experience of being Trump’s vice president.

Pence recalled that Vance was a "pretty strong critic" of the first Trump-Pence administration.

“I remember the vice president was a pretty strong critic of our administration during our four years, and showed up a lot more on your network than a lot of other Republicans,” Pence said.

At the start of the term, Vance was highly critical, calling Trump "unfit for our nation’s highest office," "noxious" and "reprehensible." He famously wondered in a private message if Trump was "America's Hitler" or a "cynical a-------- like Nixon.”

By the 2020 election, Vance stated he had voted for Trump, explaining that he had been "wrong" about the president. He later attributed his change of heart to Trump’s substantive achievements in office, such as rising wages and border security.

Vance criticized Pence’s decision to certify the 2020 election results, stating that if he had been vice president, he would have asked states to submit "multiple slates of electors" for Congress to debate.

Vance expressed skepticism that Pence’s life was ever in "actual danger" during the January 6 Capitol insurrection, despite reports that rioters were within 40 feet of the former vice president.

Pence noted he does not "begrudge" Vance for his change in views, stating that people’s opinions often change in politics.

“I don’t begrudge him that. I don’t — people change their opinions, and he’s changed his views,” he said.

Pence himself, formerly a dutiful, almost doting VP to Trump, has significantly escalated his public criticism of the 79-year-old POTUS, with critiques ranging from religious imagery and foreign policy to economic strategies.

The interview also touched on their differing views on the war in Ukraine.

“I was disappointed to hear my successor recently boasting about the fact that we had ended support for Ukraine,” Pence said.

The former veep also blasted Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo XIV, saying, “Let the pope be the pope, and you be the president,” and on his faltering economy, which he claims “has been impacted by the uncertainty around the president’s broad-based tariffs.”