Vice President Pence said during an event Tuesday hosted by a Christian conservative advocacy group that he handles online criticism through prayer and by “extending grace.”
“No. 1 is spend more time on your knees than on the internet,” Pence said of how he handles critics during a “fireside chat” at an Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) event.
“As a Christian believer, we’re charged to pray for our loved ones but also pray for our enemies. You have lots of opportunities in politics to do that,” Pence told ADF CEO Michael Farris.{mosads}
“Forgiveness is a great gift, and my wife and I literally try to work through forgiving people who might speak woefully against us or might mischaracterize who we are and what our family’s all about,” he added.
Pence said the pushback against his wife, Karen Pence, for teaching art at a Christian school in Virginia that prohibits LGBT students and faculty was one example of criticism the couple has faced in Washington that surprised him.
“We honestly didn’t see that one coming,” Pence said. “Our kids went to the school when I was in Congress.”
During the event Tuesday, Pence also addressed the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend that left more than 30 people dead and dozens more injured.
The vice president called for justice for the attacks and for Americans to set “destructive partisanship aside” and “overcome evil with good.”
“Like all Americans, Karen and I were outraged and sickened by these barbaric attacks,” Pence said. “As I stand before you today, 31 people have died, 53 were injured, and it breaks our hearts to see so many innocent lives cut short by unspeakable violence. What happened this weekend were acts of pure evil.”
“Hate has no place in America, and the sinister ideologies of racism, bigotry and white supremacy must be defeated,” he added.