About

If Mike Pence Has the Courage is a catchphrase used in a series of phrasal template memes that ironically suggest that if former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence simply had the courage, he could have made something positive happen regarding a given subject, often unrelated to politics.

The meme first started appearing online as early as January 2022. It is inspired by a viral Twitter / X post by U.S. President Donald Trump made on January 6th, 2021, during the storming of the U.S. Capitol, where he wrote that Pence didn't have the courage to "do what needed to be done" to protect the country and the Constitution, referring to Trump's claims that there was widespread voter fraud or sabotage during the 2020 election in order to help Joe Biden win.

Origin

On January 6th, 2021, after rioters had already stormed the U.S. Capitol building, U.S. President Donald Trump made a post on X^[1] / Twitter reading, "Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!"

In the tweet, Trump is referring to the election, which he lost to Joe Biden but believed was rigged and stolen from him. The tweet suggests Pence refused to overturn or reject Joe Biden's electoral college votes or stop his certification as President, a power that the Vice President does not have.

It is unconfirmed who first used the phrase, or a variation of the phrase, "If Mike Pence has the courage," as a meme. However, one of the earliest known examples was posted by X^[2] user @YuckyPumpkins on January 23rd, 2022, reading, "Aaron rogers and the packers can still make it to the Super Bowl if mike pence has the courage!" garnering roughly 80 likes in four years.

Spread

The tweet about Mike Pence's lack of courage continued to inspire memes over the following years, particularly on X / Twitter. Many of the tweets flew under the radar, gaining only a relatively small number of interactions.

On March 28th, 2022, X^[3] user @Jane_Doe82 posted, "Mike Pence could have saved Chris Rock if he had the courage to," referencing the Will Smith Slap, gaining about 40 likes in four years.

On July 28th, X^[4] user @gtconway3d posted, "Mike Pence didn't have the courage," in response to a tweet about January 6th, garnering over 700 likes in four years.

On December 8th, the @TheDailyShow X^[5] page posted, "TONIGHT: It's Trevor’s final show — unless Mike Pence has the courage to do the right thing," garnering over 5,000 likes in four years. The tweet references Trevor Noah's departure from The Daily Show.

On December 18th, 2022, X^[6] user @JoePostingg posted, "France can still win if Mike Pence has the courage," referencing the 2022 FIFA World Cup and garnering over 1,000 likes in four years.

On April 27th, 2026, X^[7] user and politician Ben Sasse quote-tweeted a post by Mike Pence in which Pence called Sasse courageous in response to a clip of Sasse talking about his cancer diagnosis and the importance of family. Sasse posted, "I can still live another 50 years if @Mike_Pence has the courage," garnering over 29,000 likes in a day and causing a resurgence in the meme.

On April 28th, Mediaite^[8] published an article about the meme, highlighting Sasse's post and calling it "Probably the Best ‘If Mike Pence Has the Courage’ Tweet Ever Written."

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References