Former Vice President Mike Pence says former President Donald Trump’s “reckless” words on January 6 endangered him and his family.
Pence opened up on Trump in an interview with ABC News, attacking Trump’s actions during the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Pence was inside the Capitol building during the riot, along with his wife and daughter.
“The president’s words that day at the rally endangered me and my family and everyone at the Capitol building,” Pence told ABC. “The president’s words were reckless, and his actions were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem.”
Trump targeted Pence during the riot with a tweet claiming he didn’t have “the courage” to refuse to certify President Biden’s 2020 election victory, something Pence lacked the legal authority to do.
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“I turned to my daughter, who was standing nearby, and I said, ‘It doesn’t take courage to break the law. It takes courage to uphold the law,'” he told interviewer David Muir.
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The statement is Pence’s most aggressive condemnation of Trump’s actions on January 6 since leaving the White House.
The storming of the U.S. Capitol occurred after a Trump rally in Washington. Trump urged his supporters to march on the building during his address.
Pence’s interview comes just days before the release of his new book, a memoir titled “So Help Me God.”
Trump is widely expected to announce his 2024 presidential run on Tuesday, and Pence is a potential challenger for the role.
Pence declined to answer when asked whether he plans to run, however. He has said he would like someone “better” than Trump to run.