Mike Pence Was Once Slammed as a Sh--ty Tipper After a Restaurant Bill Surfaced Online

In December 2020, former Vice President, Mike Pence, found himself in hot waters. This time it was not for a speech or policy, but over an alleged restaurant receipt that revealed Pence left a mere $5 tip on a $45 bill. Many accused him of being insensitive amidst the global pandemic. The controversy started when an X (formerly Twitter) user shared a picture of a food bill from a local eatery named Coyote Cafe, as reported by The Daily Dot.

The person penned, "Here’s the character of these people. A friend’s friend works at a restaurant that served @Mike_Pence at lunch today. He tipped $5 on a $45 bill. This is who these people are. Remember that, always." Although the claim was unverified, netizens engaged in a lively debate about the same, criticizing Pence. A person wrote, "This is a sh*tty tip at any time. But now? During a pandemic? That he exacerbated? Absolutely shameful. Don’t be a Pence. Tip at least 25% for people who are risking their lives to serve you, deliver to you, etc."

Another user echoed, "If this story is true this is shameful. You can afford to tip at least 20%. During the pandemic, I never tip less than 25% for takeout which is all I’m doing right now. I can afford to tip well so can you. People are hurting you could help." In a similar vein, a comment read, "Mike Pence and his privileged ilks do not have any appreciation nor understanding of the working class and their struggles." Another user chimed, "All the people trying to stretch the numbers, pretax, post-tax, takeout, counter services, it doesn't matter. The point is, if you have money (he does) and you're in bad times (we are), the correct answer to 'How much do I tip?', is 'Too much.'"

As the comments poured in, a person shared, "I used to work in a conservative community as a bartender and server. These people fight to eliminate minimum wages claiming that servers live on tips and they leave half of what they should." However, others defended the vice president. One user argued, "Hey I’m no fan of Mike Pence, but 12.5% (always tip on the pre-tax subtotal) doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. I don’t subscribe to the runaway 20%+ gratuities so commonly found today, even if split with the back-end staff." Few also opined that it was wrong to share Pence’s receipt. A user asserted, "This looks like a violation of privacy to me. How come Twitter approved this post!!!" 

During his four-year tenure as vice president under Donald Trump, Pence was a prominent figure in politics. However, after declining to overturn the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021, he has become increasingly estranged from the Republican Party’s core supporters. Pence’s bid for the 2024 presidency didn’t gain enough support, and after exiting the race, he declared that he wouldn’t be endorsing either Trump or Joe Biden (the then Democratic nominee), according to The Hill.