Mike Pence on Faith, Principle, and the Courage to Stand Alone

What does it take to hold onto your principles when the pressure to compromise is enormous? For former Vice President Mike Pence, the answer has been shaped by faith, failure, public service, and a willingness to stand alone when the stakes demand it.

On this episode of the Going Big! podcast, Kevin Gentry sits down with Pence for a deeply personal conversation about the journey that took him from an Irish Catholic Democratic family in Indiana to the vice presidency of the United States. Pence reflects on his conversion to evangelical Christianity, his early political failures, his years challenging members of his own party, his decision to join Donald Trump's 2016 presidential ticket, and the constitutional and moral questions he faced on January 6.

The conversation also looks forward. With a new book, What Conservatives Believe, Pence explains why he believes the conservative movement is at a crossroads and why Americans need to decide what they believe before deciding who they will support.

A Journey That Began With Faith

Pence's political story did not begin with the Republican Party.

Raised in an Irish Catholic Democratic family, he became involved in Democratic politics as a young man and cast his first presidential vote for Jimmy Carter. During college, however, he began exploring his faith and eventually made a personal decision to put his faith in Jesus Christ.

That decision changed his life, but it did not immediately change his politics. It was only later, through the influence of a history professor and his growing exposure to Ronald Reagan's ideas, that Pence began to reconsider his philosophy of government. He eventually saw that many of the principles he admired in Reagan were rooted in values he had learned growing up: a strong national defense, limited government, lower taxes, and a belief in the sanctity of human life.

Pence's political transformation was ultimately about finding a philosophy that aligned with the convictions he had come to hold.

Speak Your Dreams

Pence always believed he was called to public service, but he initially imagined becoming a lawyer and perhaps running for office someday.

Then, in 1987, a friend asked why he was working so hard in local Republican politics and what he actually wanted to do. Pence answered that someday he wanted to run for Congress.

That simple admission created an opportunity. Local Republicans encouraged the 28-year-old Pence to run, and he won the Republican nomination at age 29. He came close to winning in 1988. Two years later, however, he suffered a painful defeat.

The Failure That Taught Him How to Lead

Pence's 1990 congressional campaign became one of the most important lessons of his life. He says he had lost more than an election. He had lost a measure of his self-respect.

His opponent had attacked him personally, and Pence had responded in kind. The campaign devolved into a deeply negative and divisive contest.

In the aftermath, Pence began to think about what his faith actually required of him. The Golden Rule, he realized, did not come with a political exception. In 1991, he wrote "Confessions of a Negative Campaigner," acknowledging that he had fallen short of his faith and regretted focusing on personal attacks rather than issues that mattered to his state and country.

The experience changed his approach to leadership. If he ever had another opportunity to run for office, he wanted to run a campaign that honored God in how he treated others and made the campaign about something larger than his own election.

It would be another decade before Pence returned to Congress.

"It Took Me 12 Years to Get Here"

Pence was elected to Congress in 2000 and eventually became chairman of the Republican Study Committee and chairman of the House Republican Conference. But his rise in leadership did not stop him from challenging his own party.

Pence took independent conservative positions on government spending and major legislation supported by Republican leaders. His philosophy was straightforward: "It took me 12 years to get here. I'm going to do what I told people I would do if I ever got here."

He often summarized his approach with another phrase: "Just vote right and go home for dinner."

For Pence, representing the people who sent him to Washington meant disagreeing with members of his own party when necessary. That approach was tested repeatedly, including during the debate over the Medicare prescription drug entitlement. Pence opposed the broad expansion of government but said he was willing to support targeted assistance for people truly in need.

Standing on principle, he argues, does not mean refusing to engage. It means knowing where your line is.

The Hardest Battles Are Sometimes Within Your Own Team

Why do elected officials sometimes campaign on one set of principles and behave differently once they arrive in Washington? Pence believes some people may never have held the principles they claimed to hold, while others succumb to the pressures of public office.

For him, one way to resist that pressure was to surround himself with people who shared his values. He found that support in the Republican Study Committee, where conservative members encouraged and held one another accountable.

The hardest battles, Pence says, are sometimes with people on your own team. Those are the moments when you have to look at friends and colleagues and say, "This far and no farther."Y

et he found that people often respect principled disagreement when they believe it is genuine. They may not agree with you, but consistency can earn respect.

The Unexpected Call From Donald Trump

After 12 years in Congress, Pence returned to Indiana and became governor. Then came a call he never expected.

In 2016, Donald Trump was considering Pence as his running mate.

The choice was surprising. Pence had endorsed Ted Cruz, did not know Trump well, and had questions about what serving as vice president would entail.

Before agreeing to be considered, Pence wanted to know Trump better and understand the job description. He and his family spent an extended weekend with Trump and his family at Bedminster, where they discussed Trump's vision and the role Pence would play.

Pence ultimately joined the ticket, placing him at the center of a historic administration and some of the most consequential moments in American politics.

January 6: When an Oath Became a Test

Pence describes Donald Trump as both his president and his friend. That relationship made the final days of the administration even more difficult.

After the 2020 election, Pence faced pressure to reject or return electoral votes during the congressional certification process. He concluded that he did not have that authority.

Pence believed the Constitution was clear: his role was to preside over the joint session of Congress as electoral votes certified by the states were opened and counted.

For Pence, this was both a constitutional and moral question. He had taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution, with his hand on Ronald Reagan's Bible and his family surrounding him. That oath ended with the words, "So help me God." Pence believed he had to keep it, even when doing so was painful.

He cites Psalm 15: "He keeps his oath even when it hurts."

He condemned the violence at the Capitol and expressed gratitude for the law enforcement officers who restored order. But he also believes the day should ultimately be remembered as a demonstration of the resilience of America's constitutional system.

What Conservatives Believe

The conversation then turns toward Pence's new book and the future of the conservative movement.

Through Advancing American Freedom, the organization he founded after leaving the White House, Pence says he is working to provide a home for traditional conservatism: strong national defense, American leadership, limited government, lower taxes, free enterprise, and traditional moral values.

Pence believes Republicans face an important debate about the direction of the movement. His concern is that populism could become detached from the conservative principles that historically defined the Republican Party.

His central argument is simple: before deciding who you are for, first decide what you are for. Whatever one's political affiliation, the question is worth considering in any organization or movement.

What do you actually believe? And are your decisions consistent with those beliefs?

America's Role in the World

Pence remains deeply concerned about America's role on the global stage.

After traveling around the world as vice president, he says he came away with one conclusion: if America is not leading the free world, the free world is not being led.

He believes the United States must continue to confront threats from China, stand against Russian aggression, and support Israel while maintaining strong alliances. For Pence, American leadership is about preserving a global order built around freedom and democratic institutions.

Advice for the Next Generation

As the conversation comes to a close, Kevin asks Pence what he would say to an 18- or 20-year-old trying to make sense of a complicated political and cultural landscape.

Pence's answer reflects the lessons of his own life: Slow down. Prepare. Study the Constitution. Read the Declaration of Independence. Learn about the American founding. Read the great thinkers who have shaped the conservative movement.

But intellectual preparation is only part of the equation.

Pence also emphasizes integrity. People follow people they trust, and trust is built through habits developed over time. For Pence, those habits begin with faith, family, and relationships that shape a person's character.

His message to young people is simple: the country needs them. The challenge is to prepare before the moment arrives.

What Does It Mean to Go Big?

Mike Pence's story offers a powerful example of what it can mean to go big.

Going Big can mean running for Congress at 29. It can mean losing badly and having the humility to admit where you went wrong. It can mean returning to public life with a different understanding of leadership. It can mean challenging your own party when you believe it is wrong. It can mean accepting an unexpected invitation to become vice president. And it can mean standing alone when your oath and your principles require it.

Pence's story is ultimately about the decisions that shape a life long before the biggest moments arrive.The time to decide what you believe is before the crisis.

The time to develop your character is before the test. And the time to prepare to lead is before anyone asks you to step forward.

Because eventually, every leader faces a moment when the question is no longer what is easiest or most politically convenient. The question is what you believe. And whether you are willing to stand by it.