See what former VP Mike Pence said about Trump, Jan. 6 at Mississippi Book Festival

During his visit to Jackson on Saturday, Mike Pence, who is polling in the low single digits nationally among registered Republican voters, seemed to find a type of audience that has often eluded him on the campaign trail: one willing to applaud him for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.

An audience that included multiple state legislators and former Gov. Haley Barbour gave the former Vice President, and current presidential candidate, multiple standing ovations as he presented his autobiography "So Help Me God" at a panel at the Mississippi Book Festival.

Pence's remarks came far from breaking new ground — they would likely be familiar to anyone who has followed him since he left office in 2021 — and he did not take questions directly from members of the audience or media — instead focusing on those from former U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, who called Pence a mentor and a friend during their shared time in Congress.

There were also no protestors in the room, neither from LGBTQ groups who had publicly criticized his inclusion in the festival, nor from supporters of former President Donald Trump who criticize Pence for not going along with the former president's attempt to challenge and overturn the 2020 election of President Joe Biden.

What Pence did find in the Old Supreme Court room of the Mississippi State Capitol was a friendly crowd of likeminded Christian conservatives, and if there were detractors they did not make themselves known. For a candidate who has struggled to gain widespread support in early battlegrounds like Iowa, the support was met with typical politician's smiles and waves.

After describing his early political journey from a Democrat who looked up to John F. Kennedy to a Ronald Reagan supporting evangelical conservative, Pence joked about the upcoming first Republican primary debate, which Trump will reportedly not participate in despite leading the pack in polling.

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"I thought today was going to be a debate, that's why I came here," Pence said, to laughs.

The event, though, was not a campaign stop, it was a book tour, and focus quickly shifted to the contents of "So Help Me God," which tells the story of his political career, from early inspirations through the events of Jan. 6, when Pence was presiding over the joint session of Congress where Biden was to have his victory certified. Trump, and many of his supporters, pressured Pence to reject electors from states Biden narrowly won, such as Georgia and Arizona, effectively handing Trump the presidency. Pence said he held no such power, and that doing so was antithetical to both the text and the ideas of the constitution.

"I was always loyal to President Donald Trump, I believe that's the role of the vice president, but I did have a higher loyalty. And that was to the Constitution and the promises that I made to God," Pence said Saturday. "The presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people alone."

What came next was an insurrection, as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and temporarily halted the certification process that was already underway. Ultimately, after the Capitol was cleared of the rioters, members of Congress returned, along with Pence, and the transfer of power was completed.

Pence said even in that moment he thought back to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, when he was a first-term member of the House of Representatives. After the Twin Towers in New York City had fallen, a plane had hit the Pentagon and another had crashed in Pennsylvania — which some believe had the U.S. Capitol as its target — Pence was among the members of Congress who reconvened on the steps of the Capitol.

"We essentially showed the world that, we had taken the worst terrorist attack on American soil in the history of the county, that we were still there," Pence said.

The former vice president said he felt a similar message was needed on Jan. 6, that he needed to remain at the Capitol and reconvene the joint session as soon as possible.

"I had a deep conviction that I needed to stay at my post, and we did. My wife Karen was actually encouraged to go home, she had a separate vehicle with my daughter, and she basically said if you're staying I'm staying. And my wife was at my side until four in the morning the next day when we finished our work of the Constitution of the United States," Pence said, to a standing ovation.

Pence said he did not speak to Trump until five days after Jan. 6, when they met for about an hour and a half.

"I told him that I was praying for him, and that I was going to keep praying for him, and I have," Pence said.

Pence's recollection of Trump's response drew one of the more notable crowd reactions of the panel.

"When I said to him, I'm praying for you, as I was leaving, he said, 'Don't bother,'" Pence said, to audible groans and gasps. "And that's when I said there were probably two things we are never going to agree on. I alluded to his view of my duties on Jan. 6, and then I looked at him and said 'I'm never going to stop praying for you.' And he looked up, seated at the end of that table, and said 'That's right Mike, don't ever change."

In the days after Jan. 6, and after Trump left office, Pence said he continued to speak with his former boss occasionally, at least for a time.

"When he returned to talking about the last election, talking about my duties, I figured it was just better that we go our separate ways," Pence said.

The panel, which lasted more than an hour, spent little time on Pence's current campaign for president. That said, at the end, Pence did tell the audience the reason he is running, and the reason he believes his support will grow.

"We've been encouraged by the support from people around the country because I've come to the conclusion that I'm well known, but I'm not known well," Pence said.

Once time was up, and as organizers prepared for the next panel in the room, Pence was hurried away. He had a flight to catch, with more campaigning to do.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Former Vice President Pence talks Donald Trump, campaign at Book Fest