Former Second Lady Karen Pence whose husband, former Vice President Mike Pence, was the target of violent threats from the January 6 Capitol Insurrection mob is getting attention today for refusing to stand up and shake Donald Trumps hand at the late President Jimmy Carters funeral. In the video being shared on social media, Donald and Melania Trump are shaking hands with former Vice Presidents Al Gore and Pence at the funeral at the Washington National Cathedral. Next in line to shake the Trumps hands is Karen Pence, but she doesnt even put down a paper shes reading, let alone stand up to greet the Trumps. Related Karen Pence slams Pete Buttigieg for bringing up her husbands anti-LGBTQ history She said that Buttigieg is only calling out Mike Pences homophobia to get notoriety. Karen Pence wants nothing to do with Donald or Melania Trump. pic.twitter.com/VJB14nzOhR Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 9, 2025 Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today It is, of course, not known why Karen Pence gave the Trumps such a cold response, but many are speculating that it has something to do with how Donald Trump inspired the January 6 mob to storm the Capitol while Mike Pence was presiding over the Senate as it ceremoniously certified each states votes in the 2020 elections. Donald Trump lied and said that he lost that election due to massive voter fraud, and he wanted Mike Pence to stop the certification of the election results so that he could remain president despite President Joe Biden getting more votes. After his Save America rally on January 6, 2021 where Donald Trump made numerous false claims about the election and told the crowd to fight like hell Trump supporters marched to the Capitol, broke past police perimeters, and looted and vandalized the building. Many rioters were carrying weapons. Some constructed a makeshift gallows and noose outside the Capitol, and chanted Where is Pence?, Find Mike Pence and Hang Mike Pence.Five people died as a result of that days events and many were injured, including 174 police officers. In the years since the January 6 riots, Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed his loss on Mike Pence, reportedly bitter over what he perceived as Mike Pences betrayal. When asked later in 2021 about the chants of Hang Mike Pence, Donald Trump said it was common sense for people to want to kill his vice president.People were very angry because its common sense, Trump said at the time. Its common sense that youre supposed to protect. How can you if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? How can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress?In early 2024, Mike Pence told Fox News that he wouldnt support Donald Trump in the election. Karen Pence told CBS that nobody who puts himself above the Constitution should ever be president of the United States when asked about Donald Trumps campaign. Both Karen and Mike Pence have a long history of anti-LGBTQ+ actions. Mike Pence voted against LGBTQ+ rights repeatedly in Congress, campaigned on diverting funds from HIV/AIDS to conversion therapy, and was a chief architect of the transgender military ban in Donald Trumps first term.Karen Pence worked at a school that banned LGBTQ+ students because homosexual or lesbian sexual activity and transgender identity were listed in the schools applications as forms of moral misconduct, along with pedophilia and sexual harassment.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.