WASHINGTON (AP) – Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday harshly criticized former President Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 riots at the US Capitol, widening the rift between the two men as they prepare to fight over the Republican nomination in next year’s election.
“President Trump is wrong,” Pence said in remarks at the annual Gridiron Dinner attended by politicians and journalists. “I have no right to cancel the election. And those reckless words put my family and everyone in the Capitol at risk that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
Pence’s remarks were the clearest condemnation yet of a loyal lieutenant who often sidestepped his former leader. Trump has announced his candidacy. Pence hasn’t, but he’s laid the groundwork to run.
On the eve of January 6, 2021, Trump pressured Pence to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory when he presided over a ceremony certifying the results. Pence refused, and as rioters stormed the Capitol, some chanted that they wanted to “hang Mike Pence.”
The House committee investigating the attack said in its final report that “the President of the United States has terrorized a mob that is hunting his own Vice President.”
With his remarks, Pence cemented his place in the broader debate within the Republican Party on how to view the attacks. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, for example, recently provided Tucker Carlson with archived security camera footage from January 6, which the Fox News host has used to downplay the day’s events and promote conspiracy theories.
“Make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace,” Pence said at the Gridiron Dinner. “And it mocks decency to describe it any other way.”
Meanwhile, Trump continues to spread lies about his election loss. He even spoke out in support of the rioters and said he would consider pardoning him if he was re-elected.
Speeches at the Gridiron Dinner are usually funny affairs, where politicians have fun, and Pence does a lot of it, too.
He joked that Trump’s ego was so fragile, he wanted the vice president to sing “Wind In My Wings” — one of the lines being “Do you know you’re my hero?” – during lunch every week.
He took another shot at Trump over the classified document.
“I read that some of the secret documents found at Mar-a-Lago were actually stuck in the president’s Bible,” Pence said. “Which proves he really didn’t know he was there.”
Even before the dinner was over, Pence faced criticism for a joke about Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, the first openly gay Cabinet member in US history.
Pence said that, despite the travel issues plaguing Americans, Buttigieg was taking “maternity leave” after he and his wife adopted twins.
“Pete is the only person in human history to have a child and someone else has post-partum depression,” Pence said. ___
Megerian reported from Wilmington, Delaware.