Mike Pence was met with a chorus of boos on Saturday when he took the stage at the National Rifle Association convention in his home state.
“Hello, NRA!” the former vice president spoke at a gun rights event in Indianapolis. His performance was loudly protested by the audience.
“I love you too,” Pence deadpanned in response.
The vocal refusal comes a week after Pence agreed to stop challenging a subpoena for him to testify in an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s actions before and during the January 6, 2021, uprising in Washington.
Trump had previously suggested that Pence could disrupt the day’s peaceful transfer of power, when rioters stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of current President Joe Biden’s election. After Pence refused to do so, Trump supporters issued calls for violence against him.
Boos was at least a very marked improvement from this previous reception. Elsewhere in his convention speech, Pence criticized gun control opponents and called for the execution of mass shooters.
“The time has come to implement federal death penalty statutes, with speedy appeals, to ensure that those involved in mass shootings face execution in months, not years,” Pence said, cheering the NRA crowd.