Mike Pence with tears in their eyes make the sad announcement.. – story-veterans.com

He had always believed that endurance was the price of leadership—long nights, brutal headlines, and the constant calculation of every word. But somewhere between the late votes and the early flights, the line between duty and self-erasure blurred. Standing there, he finally admitted that the climb had cost more than the summit was worth. Not just for him, but for the people who had quietly absorbed his absence, his temper, his exhaustion.