Former VP Mike Pence accuses ‘reckless’ Donald Trump of endangering his family during the January 6 riots
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Mike Pence has accused Donald Trump of endangering his family in the January 6 riots.
Speaking at the annual Gridiron Dinner, an annual white-tie gathering of Washington’s political and journalistic elite, the former vice president said: “His reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.” AP reports.
In the lead-up to the January 6 riots in Washington, DC, Trump urged Pence to overturn the 2020 election results. Pence refused.
“I had no right to overturn the election,” he told the event.
Trump was furious at Pence for this and tweeted during the riots to say, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”
Rioters chanted “hang Mike Pence” as they stormed the Capitol building and erected a noose.
In the January 6 committee’s final report, they said that “the President of the United States had riled up a mob that hunted his own Vice President.”
The Gridiron Dinner is known for its comedic atmosphere, and Pence used to make some pointed jibes at his old boss.
Pence quipped: I read that some of those classified documents they found in Mar-a-Lago were actually stuck in the president’s Bible,” Pence said, referencing the ongoing saga of investigations into Trump. “Which proves he had absolutely no idea they were there.”
Pence’s comments are the latest in a string of condemnations for his former running mate. Last month, Pence said he is “confident we’ll have better choices than my old running mate come 2024.”
Whilst Pence has not confirmed he is running in the 2024 elections, he has made it clear that a bid for the Republican nomination is not off the table.
Speaking on NBC, Pence said “we’ve been traveling around the country over the last few years, we’ve gotten a lot of encouragement to consider entering the race for President of the United States and we’re giving a prayerful consideration,” he said.
“I do think we have time. I like what Ronald Reagan said many years ago when he offered — the American people have a funny way of letting you know if they want you to run for president,” he continued, “So, we’re listening, we’re reflecting, we’re talking to friends.”
An adviser to the former vice president told Insider’s Kimberly Leonard and Warren Rojas that, should Pence decide to run, the team has discussed several policy areas to differentiate himself, including Trump’s bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, the First Step Act, and that he’ll continue to be “very outspoken on the issue of life.”