(DCWatchdog.com) – On Sunday, Mike Pence ripped Donald Trump, accusing him of attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 election. He also justified his role in thwarting such efforts.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” during his New Hampshire campaign stop, Pence stated, “What I want the American people to know is that President Trump was wrong then and wrong now. I had no right to overturn the election,” and added, “By God’s grace, I did my duty under the constitution of the United States and I always will.”
Pence and Congress collectively validated President Biden’s win in the 2020 election, despite Trump’s protestations.
Pence’s reproval of Trump on Sunday echoes his previous remarks made following the indictment of Trump, 77, on four counts for purportedly endeavoring to maintain power and reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
The indictment alleges that Trump illegally backed a ploy to advance fraudulent electors and pressured Pence and other state officials to deny Biden’s triumph. Per the indictment, the former president described Pence as “too honest.”
Reacting to the indictment, Pence tweeted on Tuesday, “Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.”
On Thursday, Trump pled not guilty to the charges in a Washington, DC, federal court, maintaining his innocence.
On Sunday, Pence mentioned that he doesn’t recall Trump conceding his election defeat. He said, “I do know what he and his lawyers asked me to do and it’s what no vice president in American history had ever done before and frankly no vice president or any one person in Washington should do … The presidency belongs to the American people,” and added, “Our founders never vested authority in one person to overturn elections and I stood on that principle.”
Pence disclosed that he doesn’t intend to testify at Trump’s trial but confirmed he testified before the grand jury under subpoena and will comply with the law’s requirements.
John Lauro, Trump’s attorney in the 2020 election case, argues that Pence’s testimony could potentially clear his client of the charges. On ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, Lauro stated, “Mike Pence will be one of our best witnesses at trial,” and added, “I read his book very carefully, and if he testifies consistent with his book, then President Trump will be acquitted.”
In the CNN interview, Pence evaded whether he would back Trump if he were to secure the 2024 Republican nomination, saying instead that he didn’t anticipate Trump would be the party’s chosen candidate.
“It’s awfully early here,” Pence noted. “I don’t think we have to make that decision. I’m confident I will be able to support the Republican nominee, especially if it’s me.”
Pence, who served as Trump’s deputy for four years, argued that Republican primary voters would select fresh leadership, despite surveys indicating that Trump is a strong contender for the nomination.
“We simply have got to move our country forward,” Pence argued.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump denigrated Pence as a failure who had switched to the “dark side.”
“WOW, it’s finally happened! Liddle’ Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side,” Trump wrote, adding, “I never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution, or that Mike was ‘too honest.’ He’s delusional, and now he wants to show he’s a tough guy.”
During his campaign stop in New Hampshire on Friday, Trump’s supporters berated Pence, branding him a “traitor” and “sellout.”
