The divide between former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence continues to grow, as Pence has doubled down on his criticisms against his former partner over his role in the events of Jan. 6.
Pence shared his thoughts about Trump’s “reckless” rhetoric on Jan. 6, 2021, while speaking on ABC's “World News Tonight.” Clips of the interview, which will air on Monday night, have been released, and in them, Pence shared that watching Trump tweet about his choice not to try and overturn the election upset him.
"It angered me," Pence said about the tweet from Trump that said Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.”
While Trump was making his remarks on Pence’s decision from the safety of the White House, Congress members hid as Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building, shouting things like “hang Mike Pence.”
Nonetheless, Pence stood firm in his choice, and testimony from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol even found that the then-Vice President refused to leave the Capitol, fearing it would be a sign that rioters won.
In the interview with ABC, Pence said that he could recall being with his daughter and affirming that he made the right choice to not illegally overturn the election.
"But I turned to my daughter who was standing nearby and said, 'It doesn't take courage to break the law, it takes courage to uphold the law,” Pence said. "I mean, the president's words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem."
Pence was asked why Trump didn’t reach out to him, the Pentagon Joint Chiefs of Staff, or Capitol police during the riots.
"I was at the Capitol. I wasn't at the White House," Pence said. "I can't account for what the president was doing that day. I was at a loading dock at the Capitol where the riot was taking place .... That'd be a good question for [Trump]."
He continued saying that the actions of Trump were “reckless” and that his “words that day at the rally [before the riot] endangered me and my family and everyone at the Capitol building."
The interview is the first Pence has done since leaving office in January of 2021. He was asked to speak before the Jan. 6 committee but declined.
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