Former President Donald Trump responded to fresh criticism from his former No. 2 Mike Pence, suggesting on Monday that the former vice president was to blame for the violence at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Trump claimed that had Pence declined to certify the results of the 2020 election, rioters would not have breached the Capitol building in an attempt to stop the joint session of Congress. Pence had refused efforts to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory, noting he did not have the authority to do so.
PENCE SAYS ‘HISTORY WILL HOLD’ TRUMP ACCOUNTABLE FOR JAN. 6 IN GRIDIRON SPEECH
“Had he sent the votes back to the legislatures, they wouldn’t have had a problem with Jan. 6, so in many ways, you can blame him,” Trump told reporters after holding a campaign event in Davenport, Iowa, on Monday. “Had he sent them back to Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, the states, I believe … you would have had a different outcome. But I also believe you wouldn’t have had ‘Jan. 6,’ as we call it.”
Trump’s comments come in response to criticism from Pence over the weekend that the former president was “wrong” to demand he overturn the election results.
“His reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day. And I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” Pence said during a Saturday dinner in Washington.
Trump brushed off those comments, claiming Pence was only trying to boost his standing ahead of an expected presidential run. Pence has not indicated whether he plans to launch a White House bid, but the former vice president has made himself a familiar face on the campaign trail.
“I guess he figured that being nice is not working. But, you know, he’s out there campaigning. And he’s trying very hard. And he’s a nice man. I’ve known him. I had a very good relationship until the end,” Trump said of Pence.
Before Congress met on Jan. 6, 2021, to certify the results of the 2020 election, Pence had sought out legal advice on whether he had the ability to reject the certification unilaterally. Trump was reportedly furious over Pence’s determination that he had no such power, according to multiple witnesses’ testimonies to the Jan. 6 committee last year.
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Trump also pointed to the new legislation Congress passed in December that clarifies the procedure for certifying Electoral College votes, arguing those changes prove Pence had the power to reject the results if he wanted to.
“He had the right to send them back, otherwise they wouldn’t have changed the Voting Act. They all said, ‘He didn’t have any rights at all, he was a human conveyor belt, he had no rights even if it was fraud.’ And then the day after he did it, they said, ‘Now we’re going to change it so he doesn’t do it.’ Meaning, you understand that, meaning he had the right to do it,” Trump said, according to the Washington Post.
