Focus group: Which characteristics make a politician brave?

Moderator, Patrick Healy
On Jan. 6, 2021, Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. Protesters breached the Capitol, seeking to disrupt the certification process. Some protesters were seeking out Vice President Mike Pence, whose constitutional role was to certify the election results. While the Secret Service got Pence to a secure location under the Capitol, Pence insisted on staying there so that the process could eventually resume. Later that day, Pence certified the Electoral College results, even though many other Republicans objected to certifying the results. Do you consider Vice President Pence’s actions on Jan. 6 to have been brave?

Annie, 27, Illinois, White, Consultant, Leans Democrat
Definitely brave. He’s not only standing up against literal aggressors invading the Capitol. He’s also standing up for the will of the majority of the American population that voted for Biden for president. And so that’s going against what the aggressors were doing.

Aaliyah, 23, Florida, Asian, Tech, Independent
I don’t think that there was any way that they were actually going to get down to him and hurt him. So I don’t particularly see it as a super brave thing to do, because he just played the role that he was supposed to.