By Kristin O’Donoghue
News that former Vice President Mike Pence would be appearing at UVA last week to deliver a speech titled “How to Save America from the Woke Left” sparked controversy. Competing editorials in The Cavalier Daily defended Pence’s visit as an expression of free speech while others called for the university to deplatform a politician widely viewed as anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+.
Once on Grounds, however, Pence himself didn’t need protection from the woke left or anyone else. On stage, he described an “almost completely warm welcome” as he strolled the campus greeting students before the event. He sailed through his controversial appearance without ever mentioning or being asked about the January 6 insurrection or the congressional hearings that are currently underway.
The Young Americans for Freedom at UVA invited the former vice president, whom they describe as a “fighter for individual freedom,” and nearly 900 members of the university and Charlottesville communities filled Old Cabell Hall to capacity to hear Pence speak. There was no heckling, and he received multiple standing ovations.
YAF chair Nick Cabrera introduced the event by calling out the editorial board of The Cavalier Daily, which recently published an op-ed calling on university leadership to deplatform Pence, decrying the vice president’s rhetoric as “dangerous.”
“For anyone from The Cavalier Daily here tonight, I encourage you to grab a pocket edition of the Constitution on your way out,” Cabrera announced.
Taking the stage, Pence introduced himself as a “Christian, conservative, and a Republican in that order,” and described his origins as a Democrat, inspired as a young person by JFK and Reverend Martin Luther King. It was President Ronald Reagan, he said, who inspired his shift to the right.
“He was not always universally admired—before he was the Great Communicator, he was the Great Disruptor…who challenged his party…and eventually changed the course of the world,” Pence said of Reagan.
“President Trump was also one-of-a-kind,” he continued. “Then, as now, there is no turning back.”
Pence launched into a highlight reel of what he viewed as achievements of the Trump administration, including appointment of conservatives to the courts, crackdown on illegal immigration, and jobs added to the economy. He railed against critical race theory—the academic concept that racism is embedded in legal systems and policies—as “state-sanctioned racism” and warned about America’s adversaries on the world stage, questioning the current administration’s ability to counter them.
“As vice president, I stood toe-to-toe with Putin and told him things he didn’t want to hear,” Pence said. “Putin only understands strength…. We need to meet this moment with American strength.”
The former vice president emphasized the university’s special connection to the founding of this nation and its documents.
“That’s your heritage,” he said. “Let the Declaration and Constitution be your guide.”
Though no large-scale demonstrations were held, groups of students gathered on the Lawn with signs protesting the former vice-president. Another student group, dressed in colorful costumes, stood outside the venue passing out fliers citing disparaging statements the former VP has made about the transgender and LGBTQ+ communities, and listing other grievances, including Pence’s support for state funding of queer conversion therapy and his signing of Indiana’s so-called “Right to Discriminate” bill in 2015.
“We’re here to spread information if he’s going to spread his,” one said.
During the Q&A portion of the event, a student asked Pence about how we might restore the “presumption of good intent” that seems to be missing from our current political discourse.
“People in this country actually get along pretty well,” Pence said. “You need heavy doses of civility for democracy to thrive.”
“If one of your children came out to you as gay, how would you respond?” another student asked during the Q&A.
“First, I would look them in the eye and tell them, ‘I love you,’” Pence responded. “I believe in traditional marriage, but we live in a pluralistic society. The way we go forward is by respecting your right to believe and my right to believe what I believe.”
Pence reflected on the late John Lewis, the iconic congressman and civil rights activist, with whom he claimed to have one of his “most meaningful relationships.”
This reflection resonated with some of the students who disagreed with Pence’s politics, but appreciated the nod to bipartisanship.
“I feel that…it is both possible, and sometimes necessary to set aside political differences and connect with someone as a person,” said first-year student Andreas Masiakos.
Former congressman L.F. Payne, a Democrat who represented Virginia’s 5th District in the 1990s and was a close friend of Lewis, attended the event.
“This is the kind of forum we benefit from,” Payne said. “Mike Pence as a former vice president has had a lot of experiences, and offered a lot of insight in terms of what has motivated him.”
One student asked Pence if he might be planning a presidential run in 2024.
“I’ll keep you posted,” he said with a grin.
The Q&A ended before John, a fourth-year student, got the chance to pose his question to the former VP.
“I would have liked to ask Pence: Given the fact that President Trump and members of his administration—your administration—attempted to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, do you feel like the American right poses any danger to American democracy?” he said.
Following the event, organizer Cabrera judged it a success.
“This is what college is all about,” he said. “Being able to learn from one another in a respectful manner.”
