Mike Pence: US will soon get deserving government
The Interview14 Sep 2025

Mike Pence: US will soon get deserving government

‘I'm very confident that someday soon we're going to have government as good as our people again’

Paddy O’Connell speaks to former US Vice President Mike Pence about President Trump’s second term in office. Pence, whose political career began a quarter of a century ago, first rose to international prominence when he was selected by Donald Trump to be his running mate for the 2016 US Presidential election.

When the insurgent billionaire shocked the world by defeating Hillary Clinton, Pence found himself at the centre of an administration beset by multiple controversies from the very beginning, including having to navigate impeachment proceedings against his boss.

The pair, however, weren’t always aligned in their worldviews, and the relationship became increasingly frayed behind closed doors. Formal ties were severed when Pence resisted efforts by Trump to overturn his election defeat to Joe Biden in 2020.

After leaving the post of Vice-President, Pence remained active in politics in the years that followed, eventually running for the Republican nomination for the 2024 Presidential election. This was, of course, won by his old boss - but Pence refused to endorse him the second time around.

Despite the turbulent four years in office, he remains proud of what he and Trump achieved in that time. However, he can now speak more freely about his former boss, who is back in the White House for a second term.

His experience at the very top of American politics also gives him unique insight into events both at home and abroad. In this wide-ranging interview, he discusses many pressing issues including vaccine scepticism, global tariffs and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Thank you to the Newsnight team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Paddy O’Connell Producers: Ben Cooper, Samuel Kerr, Pascale Puthod and Liz Rawlings Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Mike Pence. Credit: John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Avsnitt(1862)

Film Director - Barbet Schroeder

Film Director - Barbet Schroeder

As the world continues to follow the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanamar, condemnation has been heaped on the Burmese authorities for not doing more to protect them from attacks from Buddhist militants. Hardtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to the acclaimed Swiss film director Barbet Schroeder. His latest documentary is about an influential Buddhist monk in Myanmar who uses strong anti-Muslim rhetoric in his speeches and writings. Barbet Schroeder has made the subject of evil the focus of many of his documentaries and films. He has worked in Hollywood and Europe and has been directing films for nearly 50 years. What has he learned about the nature of evil?(Photo: Director Barbet Schroeder attends Le Venerable W photocall at Cannes Film Festival. Credit: Matthias Nareyek/Getty Images)

18 Okt 201723min

Author - Dan Brown

Author - Dan Brown

Is there still public appetite for Dan Brown’s high fibre blockbuster novels? He’s one of the biggest selling authors of all time. His 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code challenged the story of Christianity and sparked outrage in the Vatican. Now he’s back with another epic tale, this time about man’s quest to understand the beginnings of life on earth. Stephen Sackur speaks to Dan Brown about his new book - Origin.(Photo: American author Dan Brown during a press conference at the 2017 Frankfurt Book Fair. Credit: Hannelore Foerster/Getty Images)

18 Okt 201723min

Actor and Activist - Jane Fonda

Actor and Activist - Jane Fonda

Oscar winning actor, activist and fitness guru Jane Fonda is a special guest on Hardtalk as it celebrates 20 years of being on air. In a career spanning six decades she has never shied away from speaking her mind. This is a trait that has not always been welcome in the movie business, where sexism and abusive behaviour are currently in the spotlight as never before. How dark is the reality behind Hollywood's glitz?(Photo: Actor Jane Fonda attends the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater, California. Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

13 Okt 201723min

Intelligence and Security chief, Kurdistan Regional Government - Masrour Barzani

Intelligence and Security chief, Kurdistan Regional Government - Masrour Barzani

Seventy years ago, the leader Mustafa Barzani made a declaration of Kurdish independence which was ignored. Last month, his son -Masoud, won a referendum in Iraq intended to achieve it. However, Baghdad says it will impose its rule instead. If the Kurds are to succeed, Masrour, grandson of one Barzani, son of the other, will need all the clout he's acquired waging war on the group that calls itself Islamic State. He believes that has earned Kurds the right to a state of their own. But with Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria and much of the world against them, could this referendum end up delivering the Kurds even less than the autonomy that they enjoy now?

12 Okt 201723min

Wilko Johnson: A cult hero of rock music

Wilko Johnson: A cult hero of rock music

We're all familiar with rock music's living legends, but perhaps more intriguing are rock and roll’s cult heros - the artists who've inspired other artists without getting massive rewards. Wilko Johnson fits that bill. His raw guitar sound in the band Dr Feelgood paved the way for punk, and he kept on rocking through cancer, depression and changing musical tastes. In 2017, he spoke to Stephen Sackur about what kept him going.(Photo: Wilko Johnson in the Hardtalk studio)

5 Okt 201723min

Deputy Leader, Alternative for Germany Party - Beatrix Von Storch

Deputy Leader, Alternative for Germany Party - Beatrix Von Storch

What difference will the Alternative for Germany party make to the country? Nearly six million people voted for AfD in last week's election, making it the third biggest party in the Bundestag. But within days of its stunning electoral success, its co-leader declared she was out. She said that the party was too anarchic, too focused on Russia, discrediting its moderate members and would be ineffective in opposition. Sarah Montague talks to the AfD's deputy leader, Beatrix Von Storch.

4 Okt 201723min

France's Minister for European Affairs - Nathalie Loiseau

France's Minister for European Affairs - Nathalie Loiseau

Can President Macron fix awkward realities in France and elsewhere in Europe? Stephen Sackur speaks to France’s Minister for European Affairs, Nathalie Loiseau, about the young president's vision for a reformed France, leading Europe on a march to deeper integration and greater global influence.(Photo: Foreign Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau leaves a cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace, Paris, 2017. Credit: Bertrand Guay/AFP)

2 Okt 201723min

Pakistan's Foreign Minister - Khawaja Asif

Pakistan's Foreign Minister - Khawaja Asif

Is Pakistan at risk of losing allies over its inability or unwillingness to control militants? Sarah Montague speaks to Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Khawaja Asif. President Trump has accused his country of "housing the very terrorists" that the United States is fighting. He says that will have to change "immediately". He has also questioned why the United States is giving Pakistan billions in aid and military support. It is an argument that has been made before. But now other countries are also pointing to what they see as Pakistan's seeming double-speak on terrorism. Even China has signed a declaration including Pakistan-based groups on a terror list.(Photo: Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif speaks at a press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, 2017. Credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

29 Sep 201724min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

p3-krim
svenska-fall
rss-krimstad
flashback-forever
rss-viva-fotboll
motiv
aftonbladet-daily
rss-vad-fan-hande
rss-sanning-konsekvens
aftonbladet-krim
krimmagasinet
dagens-eko
rss-krimreportrarna
olyckan-inifran
fordomspodden
spar
grans
svd-nyhetsartiklar
rss-frandfors-horna
svd-dokumentara-berattelser-2