Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday surprised sightseers at the Capitol, stopping to chat, take photos and hand out boxes of White House Christmas chocolate.
Mr. Pence greeted the tourists in the Rotunda after attending the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon.
In one exchange, the vice president stooped to talk to 7-year-old Liam Hopper, who with his mother was visiting from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
“I have a motto, you know what that is?” Mr. Pence told the boy. “Study hard, pray harder, and for you, the sky is the limit.”
Liam was impressed.
“Not many people get to meet the vice president,” he said afterward.
His mother, Sarah Pearce, was stunned.
“I’m still shaking,” she said after she and Liam had a photo taken with Mr. Pence. “I’m a high school social studies teacher and I am always trying to instill in my students an appreciation for this — our government.”
She said she encourages her students, regardless of their political leanings, to love the country’s leaders.
“We are religious and we pray over our leaders,” Ms. Pearce said.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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