world of politics, all at your fingertips. you can also stay current with the latest episodes of washington journal and find scheduling information for c-span tv networks and c-span radio, plus a variety of compelling podcasts. c-span now is available at the apple store and google play. download for free today. your front row seat to washington anytime, anywhere. >> former vice president mike pence spoke at the university of virginia last night after addressing the school chapter of the young america's foundation. the former vice president answered questions from students. >> i'm nicholas cabrera, chairman of the young americans for freedom at mr. jefferson university.

let us be grateful for our freedoms. most notably, our first amendment right to the freedom of speech. the editorial board at the cavalier daily does not seem to understand this right. the newspapers are a cheap beneficiary of the first amendment. they recently wrote an op-ed titled "dangerous rhetoric is not entitled to a platform." this is a common trend with the woke left: any speech that they disagree with, they deem as dangerous, and thus not protected under the first amendment. however, for anyone on cavalier daily in attendance, i encourage you to grab a pocket constitution on your way out of tonight's event. [applause] despite attempts to deplatform tonight's guests, we persisted. when radical leftist defaced our

message, we hung up twice as many as before. we persisted. [applause] before i give thanks to our sponsors, and welcome tonight's speaker with his proper introduction, i must read verbatim the university policy. i am nicholas cabrera, chairman of the young americans for freedom at uva any attendees who wish to disrupt our intended the or hinder the ability of other attendees to speak or to hear our invited speaker said, per university officials, relocate the homer flat on the lower lawn just outside of this building. under university of virginia policy, no person may disrupt a permitted speaker or hinder the ability of other attendees to hear or see a speaker. if you choose to disrupt our speaker or hinder the ability of other attendees to see or hear our invited eager, the university officials in

attendance will assess and remove a disruptive attendee in accordance with university policy when appropriate. avid now like to give a few things to tight sponsors and contributors. first and foremost, tonight's lecture is a part of --, advancing freedom lecture series. thank you both for yourself as contributions. tonight's lecture would not be possible without the participation of the jefferson council. the jefferson council is a nonprofit organization comprised mostly of very committed alumni that strive to preserve mr. jefferson's legacy, promote an open dialogue, reinvigorate the honor system, and preserve the appearance of the academic village of the university of virginia. young america's foundation, thank you for the resources that you provide nationwide. the youth conservative movement is succeeding because of your guidance. and thank you to the university police department, and thank you

you to my dedicated executive board team. tonight's cast is no stranger to the far left woke mob. [laughter] mike pence earned his bachelors degree in history from hanover college and attended indiana university school of law. after graduating, he practiced law and became the proud father to three children. in 2000, he entered the united states house of representatives and was reelected six times. soon after, he became the 50th governor of indiana, where he enacted the largest income tax in indiana history, increased school funding it, and expanded school choice. the former vice president's record of legislative and executive experience prompted president donald j. trump to select and as his running mate in july of 2016.

the american people elected president donald j. trump and the vice president in the fall of 2016 and on january 20, 20, e president. please join me in welcoming the 48th vice president of the united states of america mike pence. [applause] mr. pence: mr. pence: hello, uva.

hoo-ah. i want to thank you all for being here tonight. i want to thank you for the warm welcome. it is my great honor to welcome you to the advancing freedom lecture series, sponsored by young america's foundation, here on the grounds of the school founded by the author of the declaration of independence. thank you all. [applause] i want to thank nick for that kind introduction. but he knows that the one i prefer is a little bit shorter. i'm a christian, a conservative, and republican, in that order, and it is my great honor to be on the campus of the university

of virginia tonight. you know, for more than 50 years, young america's foundation has been advancing the cause of freedom on campuses across the country, and it continues tonight. and i want to take just a moment to thank the uva young america's foundation chapter. many of the members are here tonight. they've stood strong for the freedom of speech, they've made tonight possible, and they do this generation credit. will you join me in thanking uva yaf? [applause] benjamin franklin said on departing from the constitutional convention, he said, republic, if you can keep it, and conservatives know that we can keep our republic, and we

will keep the torch of life and liberty burning bright for every generation to come, but we need this generation to be the freedom generation, starting right here at uva. [applause] but first, let me tell you a little bit about myself. i will share some thoughts, and then i look forward to hearing what might be on your mind in the question-and-answer session that will follow. first and foremost, it may surprise you, i grew up in a small town in southern indiana. my family had a gas station business. i was what was called back then a gas station attendant. which some of the people my age in the room can explain to you young people what that actually was. early in my life, i was inspired by the example of president john f. kennedy, the example of reverend dr. martin luther king jr..

i was the youth democrat party coordinator in 1975. kind of a community organizer, if the truth be told. but over my high school years, i began to study the constitution. i went to a small college. southern indiana. i took a degree in american history with a special emphasis on the american founding, so much of which just generated in this great historic state. it was also at a time that i made the most important decision of my life. i put my faith in jesus christ as my personal lord and savior, and my life has never been the same. [applause] at that time, my politics and my thinking about america actually began to shift. much of that was impacted by the voice and the inspiration of the 40th president of the united

states, ronald reagan. and when i heard reagan's optimistic vision for our country, a strong national defense, limited federal government, traditional values, it resonated with my heart. i signed up for the reagan revolution, and i've never looked back. my career would take me into talk radio. i actually hosted a small talk radio show for the better part of 10 years. it was kind of like rush limbaugh on decaf. eventually i had the opportunity to come forward and serve my hometown in the congress of the united states. it was the dream of my life. there i served in the congress for 12 years. although it seemed longer. i went on to be the governor of the great state of indiana, but you can imagine how it was when i raised my right hand in january of 2017 and was sworn in as the 48th vice president of

the united states. again, thank you for the honor of serving as your vice president. it was the greatest honor of my life. [applause] on a personal level, i've been married to a school teacher six years, and i am still a work in progress. the highest title i will ever hold is spelled d-a-d. i'm incredibly proud of our three kids. bye daughter graduated from law school and is practicing law. my other daughter is a writer for something called the daily wire. [applause] and my son is a captain in the united states marine corps, who deployed last year. [applause]

the kids are all off the payroll. happily married to some incredible people, and most importantly, our son and incredible daughter-in-law gave us our first grandchild just last year. since i left office, i've had the privilege to travel around this country. spend time with the american people. since 2021, i've been traveling to campuses across america, talking about our conservative vision for this country, talking about our record and the challenges are nation faces. with the impact ronald reagan had on my life, you can imagine how humbling that has been for me. president reagan really was one-of-a-kind. while he is universally admired today, it may surprise you to know that wasn't always the case. before he was the great communicator, ronald reagan was the great disruptor.

a conservative outsider, vigorously opposed -- opposed the moderates in his own party and in 1980 breathed new life into our party and change the nation and odom will he change the course of the world. sometimes i think today we find ourselves in a very similar position. president donald trump was also one-of-a-kind. he, too, disrupted the status quo, challenged the establishment, and then, as now, there is no turning back. in the trump-pentz administration, we achieve things that conservatives had only talked about for generations. and we did it all, not by backing down, by standing strong. and we did it all by standing strong for freedom. in four short years, in support of freedom, we rebuilt our military.

we revived our economy, created 7 million good paying jobs, we became a net exporter of energy for the first time in 70 years. helped chuck -- held china accountable for trade abuses, we brought jobs back to the u.s. we reduced immigration at the southern border by 90%. we crushed the isis caliphate, took down their leader without one american casualty, in the face of the worst pandemic and 100 years. we launched the greatest mobilization since world war ii, only in america. [applause] closer to home, we appointed some 300 conservatives to our federal courts, including justice neil gorsuch, justice brett kavanaugh, and indiana's justice, amy coney barrett.

and for my part, i couldn't be more proud to have been vice president in the most pro-life administration in american history. in 48 months, our administration achieve the lowest unemployment, the highest household income, the most energy production, the most secure border and the strongest military the world had ever known. but how times have changed. in one year, the biden-harris administration has unleashed a tidal wave of left-wing policies that threatened to wipe out all the progress we made in four short years. frankly, democrats have moved so fast in the last 14 months, sometimes i feel like the left hand doesn't know what the far left hand is doing. actually, it's heartbreaking to see. we have the worst border crisis in american history, and it's about to get worse, as the

administration looks to repeal title 40 two. inflation is at a 40 year high and a new high was set again today with 8.5% inflation. hurting american families and american businesses. violent criminals are given virtual free range and some of our largest cities. our hearts broke this morning with the headline of the terrible violence that took place in the subway of new york. our prayers are with the injured dems and the families. one of the advantages of being -- the injured victims and families. one of the advantages is driving my own car again and one of the disadvantages i have to pay for gas. i visited one of my daughters and my unworthy son-in-law just a couple of weeks ago. you can take that one home. i told them, the father-in-law

thing, i told my son-in-law, let me take the truck, i will go fill it up. wow-- wow. they live in california. gasoline was like $6.50 a gallon. massive tax increases are on the horizon. as we speak to all the bright young members of this rising generation, there's a mountain range of death put squarely on your shoulders, $30 trillion and rising. following president biden's disastrous withdrawal from afghanistan, it seems our adversaries around the world have been emboldened. after years of quiet, north korea has fired missiles again. china seems to act in a more menacing way in the taiwan

straight every single day -- straits every single day. iran threatens to restart its nuclear program. and in europe, russia launched an unconscionable war of aggression against the great people of ukraine. karen and i visited the ukraine border just a few short weeks ago, and i will tell each and every one of you what we saw there, throngs of women and children fleeing from the heartless and mindless violence being inflicted on the free people of ukraine. it was something i never thought i'd live to see. president zelenskyy and the ukrainian people are inspiring the world, and we must continue to stand with them in defense of their freedom. [applause]

and i met president zelenskyy when i was your vice president. i knew he had a quality. and i must tell you, to see him taking a stand, up at stand -- a courageous sandbag rate personal risk that he's taken the lead -- a courageous stand at great personal risk that he's taken to lead his people, it's inspiring. i've told president putin things he didn't want to hear. let me tell all of you, putin only understands strength, and america must meet this moment with american strength. [applause] that means more military aid to the brave and courageous ukrainian military. that means more economic sanctions on putin and his regime.

and, let me also say, it means more humanitarian aid, and i would not -- i would not miss the opportunity tonight to say to all of you and those who might be looking on across the country, if you have not yet made a contribution to one of the many relief organizations that are risking their lives to provide food and medicine and water to the people of ukraine, do it now. let's stand with them and make sure they have the ability to survive and fight for freedom. [applause] so, it's a challenging time for families and our economy. it's a challenging time on the world stage. and here at home, one of the most troubling developments this past year has been the biden administration's all-encompassing assault on culture and values.

under the biden administration, woke-ism is running amok in our public schools and universities. patriotic education has been replaced by political indoctrination. they abolished our 1776 commission and authorized what's known as the teaching of critical race theory in our schools. critical race theory actually teaches children as young as grand -- gradeschool to be ashamed of the color of their skin. let me be clear. critical race theory is nothing more than state sanctioned racism, and it should be rejected by every state, in every city in this country. [applause] and i don't have to tell conservatives on this or any other campus in america, in the midst of that assault, there's

been an assault on free speech. nick spoke about it just a few moments ago. i heard there was a little bit of controversy preceding my visit to university of virginia. but let me say i'm incredibly proud, incredibly proud to be standing in front of all of you. this conversation tonight. incredibly proud of the team that uva young america's foundation. and let me also express my profound gratitude to president ryan and the 17 faculty members who stepped forward and stood up in defense of freedom here at the emergency -- university of virginia. [applause] the antidote to cancel culture is freedom. the antidote to woke america is

freedom. first amendment of our constitution reads, " congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or of the right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition their government for redress." it's all here. it was fought for at the founding of this nation. it is grafted carefully by the genius, largely, of virginians. it's been defended by every generation ever since. and that's -- that's where we need to repair in these divided times. i mean, the founder of this university, thomas jefferson wrote, "as long as we may

think as we will and speak as we think, the condition of man will proceed and improvement -- in improvement." mr. jefferson was right. as long as we think as we will and speak as we think, the future will always be brighter. when he founded this great university, i know tomorrow is founder's day, he declared this institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. and let me say to each and every one of you, your presence here tonight continues mr. jefferson's legacy, from the founding of this university forward, and i'm grateful. [applause]

the freedom of speech is the god-given birthright of every american. and we can never let the woke left take it away. thankfully, i'm proud to report that the american people have been stepping up for freedom, just like courageous voices did here and did on other university campuses where i've had the privilege to speak. and parents are beginning to take back our schools. i don't know if you noticed. but a republican by the name of glenn youngkin was elected governor of the commonwealth of virginia just last year. [applause] and -- [applause] and i was in loudoun county a few days before that election. i'm telling you what, that election was about education freedom, it was about empowering parents, people of virginia can

be proud. but it's not just happening in virginia. i was in san francisco not long ago. just a couple days after the most liberal city in america literally recalled three school board members who cared more about renaming public schools than reopening public schools, turned them out. the american people are stepping up. [applause] the truth is we're -- where many on the left have spent years agitating for a culture war, it looks like they got it, and it looks like they are losing. because this generation, i believe, is the freedom generation. and the truth is, every one of you must be prepared to stand on the ramparts for freedom in your life. i spoke to a young man at a reception just before we came over. he said, you know, there's this thing that i read over the

weekend about students on campuses around the country tend to self sensor because they don't want to speak out in class if they share a conservative worldview. he says, what do you suggest? i said, speak up and smile. and that's what all of you need to do. and when you do it, i want you to know, young men and women, you are going to be standing proudly on the legacy of people like jefferson and madison, helped found this university and this nation, the father of our constitution. ronald reagan said, "freedom is never one generation more than -- never more than one generation away from extension." it must be advocated for and fought for -- away from extinction."

it must be advocated for and fought for. prepare your minds for action. prepare to be leaders in this freedom generation. i lead an organization that just came up with working with some of the brightest minds in the country, the freedom agenda, and you can find it at our website. but beyond those ideas, i just want to encourage you to wrap your -- your minds in your hearts around the founding documents of this country -- your minds and your hearts around the founding documents of this country. you have a special connection to the declaration of independence, one of the greatest documents in human history. that's your heritage. and it's yours to cherish and protect and uphold. and i think, as you think about

these challenging times, and what we can come together on, i point you to that constitution. the preamble of the constitution reads like a mission statement for the american people. it's our to do list. bequeathed by the founding generation of this country. it created this government to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our prosperity. as you reflect on those words, there are policies behind them. as we provide for the common defense, that means having a strong military, because peace comes through strength. it means us having strong borders because a nation without borders is not a nation. to establish justice, we must

see to it that we are a nation that treats all our citizens equally. there can be no discrimination against any american for race, or sex, or religion, not in our criminal justice system, not in our hiring decisions, and not in college admissions. [applause] to ensure domestic tranquility, we need to support law enforc ement at every level. we don't need to defund the police. we need to fund the police and give them the tools they need to defend our streets and their families. -- and our families. [applause] and to promote the general welfare, we need to embrace

the principles of the free market economics that created the most prosperous nation the world has ever known. to secure the blessings of liberty, for ourselves and our posterity. you need to be prepared, as so many have you -- of you have already done, to defend the ideals in the bill of rights. freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly. and the right to keep and bear arms. [applause] yours must be a generation that cherishes our history and our heritage. we need you to train ourselves up on what made this country special and unique.

the truth is, this generation may be the last line of defense for the constitution of the united states. you know, for most of our nations history, both political parties were committed to the ideals enshrined in the constitution. but that's no longer the case. we live in a time when many on the radical left routinely demean the american founding and today radical progressives seek to rewrite our constitution and erode the liberties enshrined in our bill of rights. in fact, democrats in washington established a commission to consider packing the supreme court of the united states and, every day, we see new efforts to silence or cancel those that dare to disagree with the progressive orthodoxy. so, i say to each and every one

of you, this rising generation, let the constitution and the declaration be your guide. you know, i hope many of you will step forward and serve our country in some capacity. maybe some of you will put on the uniform of the united states and it will be greatly to your credit. and some of you may step forward to serve in elected office at a local, state, or even the federal level. if you do so, you should know that every officeholder takes the same oath of office. to support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic. nothing more, nothing less. you will be asked to take this obligation freely without mental

reservation or purpose of evasion. and you will be called upon at will -- to well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office to which you are about to enter. i recited that oath the last time standing on the inaugural platform in january of 2017. i had the privilege of taking my oath of office on ronald reagan's bible. and as my kids insisted, on one of my own. surrounded by family, i made a solemn promise to the american people and to someone else. because that oath ends with a prayer. so help me god. to those of you that will step forward and take that oath, whether it be in the uniform of the united states or in the service of this commonwealth of this great nation, let me

challenge you to become men and women who will keep your oath. you know, there's a common misperception in your generation that adversity creates character. and i don't think adversity creates character in the way you all put it. if it doesn't kill me, it makes me stronger. i think if it didn't kill you, it just didn't kill you. [laughter] adversity doesn't create character. adversity reveals character. the truth is, when the hard times come, when you are tested, you will be the men and women that you have prepared your heart and mind to become in every quiet moment before that day. for the sake of our nation and our future, we need you to be

men and women who, as the bible says, keep your oath, even when it hurts. and i know you will. because looking out at all the shining faces here today and the almost completely warm welcome i got -- [laughter] walking across the grounds, i know you are the freedom generation. just repair yourselves -- prepare yourselves. grow in stature and grace before god and before men. become the kind of leaders upon which this nation will rely. and, lastly, i would say to you, just remember the core of the american experiment is a timeless belief that we don't

get our rights from sovereigns. we don't even get our rights from charters. but as mr. jefferson wrote, that we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. so, i say to all of you, with great respect, remember that the foundation of america is freedom, but the foundation of freedom is faith, and in this time in your life, i would encourage you, do as it says in the book of jeremiah, stand at the crossroads and look, ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and you will find rest for your souls. looking out at all of you here at uva, i am more convinced than

ever this is the freedom generation. you are going to go from here and help lead your families, lead this commonwealth, and lead this nation to even greater heights. and i'm absolutely convinced, as you rise to that challenge in your life and in the life of the nation, the best days for the greatest nation on earth are yet to come. thank you, all, very much. god bless. [applause] god bless. [applause] >> good evening, ladies and

gentlemen. we will now begin our question and answer session. if you have a question, we ask that you form your question before hand, have only one question, with no follow-up. you can form a single file line up this aisle. we will have our first question. mr. pence: and if you could share with me your first name, for you have me at a disadvantage. you know my name. you can call me mike. don't worry about it. >> hello, vice president pence and everyone in attendance today. my name is matthew lawrence. mr. pence: what's your name again, son? >> matthew lawrence. mr. pence: hi, matthew. >> no matter what side of the aisle we are on, one thing we have in common is that we all love uva and we care about it deeply. uva's steeped in traditions, traditions of excellence in every field. and my question revolves around

how our tradition of excellence has recently been affected by the woke left. in recent years, uva has emerged as an athletic powerhouse, winning a national championship in basketball, back-to-back national championships in lacrosse, and championships in women's swimming and diving. recently, our tradition of excellence was broken, but not of our own volition. emma wyatt, a freshman and swimmer, the fastest swimmer in the nation, was robbed of a m edal, beat by a man from the university of pennsylvania. so, my question to you, mr. vice president pence, is what do you want to say to emma and uva as a whole about this embarrassing incident that she did our school out of a gold medal? mr. pence: matthew, thank you so much for that thoughtful question. emma wyatt won that race. [applause]

you know, i know that it is -- in his state of the union address, president biden promised to stand for the god-given right of men to compete in women's sports. [laughter] common sense needs to reign, and it will reign. and this is really about women's sports is a pathway toward achievement and excellence. and i expect there's some outstanding women athletes in the room today and maybe some looking on, and we need to defend the integrity of women's sports in america for the benefit of women everywhere.

[applause] and, by the way, thanks for not robbing that national -- rubbing that national basketball championship in this hoosier's face. yes, sir. >> my question for you today -- mr. pence: what's your name? >> jack. mr. pence: could you speak up a little bit? >> yes. you speak a lot about you being christian first, republican third. one of my friends told me a trick about how to get your attention. i'm a pastor. i heard that he walked right up to him and said, how can i pray for you. can you tell us a little bit about your journey of faith and how does faith -- in public

service? thank you. mr. pence: thank you, jack, what a lovely question. well, for me, i was raised in a wonderful church family. it was grace before dinner and church on sunday morning. i lost interest in high school in faith. decided i could go on my own steam. but came up empty, felt hollow inside. when i was a freshman in college, i made the personal decision to trust jesus christ as my personal lord and savior. the way it's manifested itself in my life, my marriage, my family, my kids is really hard to describe. because it's, for me, it's more of a relationship with god that just informs and strengthens and edifies all of what's most

important in my life. for me, i tried to spend a little bit of time -- try to spend a little bit of time in the old book every morning. i try to spend a little time in prayer. invariably, the rest of the day goes better when i do. so, i've drawn a lot -- i'm writing a book right now. i'm writing my autobiography. almost everybody is excited about it. [laughter] but as i'm writing the book, jack, i actually can't write it without reflecting from time to time on lessons learned, some hard lessons that i've learned, how my faith sustained me through all those days, and they will sustain me still. thank you for your ministry, and thank you for your nice question. very kind. [applause] >> hi. my name is rob. mr. pence: hi, rob.

>> i'm a senior at the university, and i was just wondering if you are planning to run in 2024 for president. [laughter] mr. pence: i will keep you posted. [applause] thanks, rob. >> good evening, mr. vice president, and thanks for coming. my name is scott. i am studying mechanical engineering and your own area of expertise, history. i have a theory about why you were invited and i have a theory of how we can fix it. i think we've lost the presumption of good intent. we assume the people we disagree with disagree honestly and how we pursue the good and we instead presume malicious intent. and that poisons our interactions and our conversations. and so, i think that we need to

restore that presumption of good intent. otherwise, i don't feel very optimistic about our future. i wanted to ask what you think elected officials and everyday people like myself and my fellow students can do to restore that presumption. mr. pence: i think that's a very eloquent comment. and let me say, you know, i'd like to say i'm a conservative, but i'm not in a bad mood about it. [laughter] right? and when i served in the congress of the united states, and, by the way, i got a call -- to call him out, one of the people i most admire in public life, governor george allen is with us today. [applause] mr. pence: the governor would probably back me up. one of the dirtiest secrets and

washington, d.c. is that people actually get along pretty well. it doesn't look like the on cable television, right? back in the day i used to do cross fire back when that was a hot show. in my first 10 years in the congress, then it got kicked off the air because it was too argumentative, then every show became crossfire. right? the truth is, i love to say when you get 10 miles outside of washington, d.c., people in this country it along pretty well. we really do. we just have to have a government as good as our people again. i'll submit to you that, for democracy to thrive, you have to apply heavy doses of civility. i was in the congress of the united states, i had many friends in the democratic party, and liberals, who we didn't agree on anything. i mean, anything. except for the fact i concluded they were well-intentioned

americans trying to do the best for the country, and they concluded the same think of me. i write about this in my book, but one of my most meaningful relationships was with the late john lewis. civil rights hero. he was an aid to the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. during the civil rights movement, he came to national prominence when he was beaten within an inch of his life at the edmund pettus bridge. on bloody sunday. but his courage inspired the nation to move forward on civil rights. but for me, to be in congress, to be serving with him, and to become his friend was one of the great privileges of my life. in fact, we were such good friends that back in 2010 he asked me to co-lead the annual pilgrimage to selma, alabama with him. and i told him if i could bring karen, michael, charlotte and audrey were coming because i wanted my kids to see what the

american people had accomplished, how we had made progress towards a more perfect union. john has passed on, history will remember him as a great leader in the civil rights movement. but, i have also always thought of him as a friend. we agreed on nothing. we were on the floor in a debate was happening, john would come with that booming voice after i had given a speech and he would wipe me out. [laughter] mr. pence: but, we'd walk back from the u.s. capitol together and talk about our families and he was also a profound manner faith. that's what you are talking about and you couldn't be more right. democracy depends on heavy doses of civility. so as you stand for your values, do so with gentleness and respect, that's how we move our

country forward. [applause] >> hello, vice president, god bless you and thank you for being here. mr. pence: what's your first name? >> mr. pence: jonathan. hey, john. >> if you are in our shoes, walking route here or any other college campus, what would be most important to you in today's world? mr. pence: the first part of that question was a little muffled, could you repeat the first part? >> yes, sir. if you are in our shoes walking around campus here or anywhere in the united states, what would be most important to you? mr. pence: let me be honest and say i could have never gotten into the university of virginia. [laughter] mr. pence: you people are incredible students. it's a little bit of what i just said, john.

i mean, for me, the time of my life when i had hair the same color as yours. i was ready to go. i wanted to get going, i wanted to start making things happen. the better part of that time in my life was when i developed the qualities of the inner man. get your nose in those books, these professors really are some of the best in the country. put your head down, develop the character qualities. if faith is important to you, and i suspect it might be by your reaction, develop that faith, use this time of your life to prepare for what's next. abraham lincoln, who grew up in indiana. [laughter] mr. pence: we like to say lincoln made illinois, but indiana made lincoln. abraham lincoln had a great saying that he learned on his

little farm in southern indiana. he said, if i had eight hours to chop down a tree, i would spend seven hours sharpening my ax. at this time in your life, sharpen your acts and become men and women of integrity and prepare for the future. i promise you, you become men and women with qualities that people trust and admire, then, hang onto your hat. i can testify firsthand, will never know, you'll never know where it'll take you. [applause] >> hello, mr. vice president, thank you for coming. i appreciate you coming and giving your speech. my name is jacob and i'm a fit -- physical philosophy student. i study the foundational theory of individual rights and how the thoughts have influenced our founders and the political debates that have gone on since

then. i'm curious, as a policymaker and lawyer, if there's any political thinker that has influenced your own view. if you would be willing after this, i would love if you could sign my joe biden tank top? mr. pence: i didn't get it. i'm very sorry, the pa is a little -- >> i'm curious if there is any political philosopher that has influenced you as a policymaker and lawyer? mr. pence: i still didn't get it. i was sorting that out. [laughter] >> i'm sorry. i'm curious if there was a political thinker or theorist like john locke. mr. pence: oh, is there somebody i like ? >> yes. [applause]

mr. pence: i can tell you are a real smart guy. i'm very impressed. he doesn't get a lot of attention, but i had the privilege of meeting the late dr. russell kirk. [applause] mr. pence: i will tell you, he -- it was right and i was getting my career started, i was running a policy group in indiana and i read a couple of his books. he writes a book when he is at yale. while he writes a book entitled "the conservative mind," back in the 1950's. it literally launched the conservative movement that exists today in america. he was a thoughtful intellectual, and i would say to anybody that is serious about understanding the conservative boot -- the conservative viewpoint on policy is, you should read the conservative mind.

also a lesser-known book that he gave me a copy of his entitled "the politics of prudence." because of plato actually said that the singular quality of a public official in a free society is prudence. and so he spoke about that in the long sweep of history. like many other thinkers that have influenced me, but i had the privilege to meet him, we had breakfast at the holiday inn in columbus and his wife is still with us, but he was a phenomenal thinker and i think you greatly benefit. russell kirk. ok. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, this will be the last question of tonight. >> thank you for speaking tonight, my name is luis. mr. pence: hi, luis. >> this is a bit of a hypothetical. mr. pence: are you a fight gamma

delta? i got it. it's all greek to me. >> i was just wondering, if one of your children came out to you as gay, how would you respond? what would you tell them? [applause] mr. pence: i would look them in the ai and tell them, i love you. [applause] mr. pence: let me say, on this issue, if we got to know each other you would know the pence is, we love everybody. we treat everybody the way we want to be treated. but on this issue, and it's

frankly something that, when the decision is made which legalized same-sex marriage in america and the supreme court, justice kennedy wrote at the end that this decision will likely create an intersection and a tension between people in same-sex relationships and people in the exercise of their religious liberty. and we have been on this debate now for roughly seven years in the country. and it's extremely important, i think, that we go back, as i said, to first principles. in the first principles represent that congress shall make no law abridging the establishment religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. and the way forward in this country, although i believe that

marriage is between a man and a woman, i believe in traditional marriage, and i believe marriage is ordained by god and instituted in the law, but we live in a pluralistic society. in the way we go forward, and the way we come together as a country united, i believe is when we respect your right to believe in my right to believe what we believe. [applause] mr. pence: uva, thank you so very much. young america's foundation team. i want to again say thank you to the administration here at uva, to the faculty that has expressed strong support, and most of all, thank you to all of

you for such a respectful and thoughtful hearing today on this great campus. [applause] mr. pence: thank you all, god bless you. [applause] >> the necessary mental health treatments and supports if severe illness, incarceration

and death. long-standing social and economic historically marginalized groups is particularly bleak outcomes. we finally take on these issues in a serious holistic manner will take all of us working together to address this invisible suffering across many communities. >> addiction specialist and others on drug use, suicide risk and solutions for mental health treatment before the house ways and means committee. other topics include the impact of the covid pandemic on mental health and stigmas associated with mental health treatment. watch tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org or watch full coverage on c-span now, are free video -- our video app. >> there are a lot of places to get political information but only at c-span do you get it straight from the source. no matter where you are from or where you stand on the issues,

c-span is america's network. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. if it happens here or here or here, or anywhere that matters, americans are watching on c-span. powered by cable. >> tennessee senator marsha blackburn was the keynote speaker of the weekend at an event hosted by the iowa state freedom coalition in des moines. following her remarks, senator blackburn sat down with the discussion with joni ernst at an iowa -- and the iowa state legislator. [applause] >> thank you so very much. i love this. i think we've got about