Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Pence Says Trump 'Endangered My Family' on Jan. 6
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
March 13, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday harshly criticized former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, widening the rift between the two men as they prepare to battle over the Republican nomination in next year’s election.

“President Trump was wrong,” Pence said during remarks at the annual white-tie Gridiron Dinner attended by politicians and journalists. “I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”

Pence’s remarks were the sharpest condemnation yet from

the once-loyal lieutenant who has often shied away from confronting his former boss. Trump has already declared his candidacy. Pence has not, but he’s been laying the groundwork to run.

In the days leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, Trump pressured Pence to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory as he presided over the ceremonial certification of the results. Pence refused, and when rioters stormed the Capitol, some chanted that they wanted to “hang Mike Pence.”

The House committee that investigated the attack said in its final report that “the President of the United States had riled up a mob that hunted his own Vice President.”

With his remarks, Pence solidified his place in a broader debate within the Republican Party over how to view the attack. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, for example, recently provided Tucker Carlson with an archive of security camera footage from Jan. 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 in his Gridiron Dinner remarks. “And it mocks decency to portray it any other way.”

Trump, meanwhile, has continued to spread lies about his election loss. He’s even spoken in support of the rioters and said he would consider pardoning them if he was reelected.

Speeches at the Gridiron Dinner are usually humorous affairs, where politicians poke fun at each other, and Pence did plenty of that as well.

He joked that Trump’s ego was so fragile, he wanted his vice president to sing “Wind Beneath My Wings” — one of the lines is “did you ever know that you’re my hero?” — during their weekly lunches.

He took another shot at Trump over classified documents.

“I read that some of those classified documents they found at Mar-a-Lago were actually stuck in the president’s Bible,” Pence said. “Which proves he had absolutely no idea they were there.”

Even before the dinner was over, Pence was facing criticism for his jokes about Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, the first openly gay Cabinet member in U.S. history.

Pence mentioned that, despite travel problems that were plaguing Americans, Buttigieg took “maternity leave” after he and his husband adopted newborn twins.

“Pete is the only person in human history to have a child and everyone else gets post-partum depression,” Pence said. ___

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

DON'T MISS

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

DON'T MISS

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

DON'T MISS

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

DON'T MISS

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

DON'T MISS

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

DON'T MISS

State Department Lays out Plans for $7 Billion-Plus Arms Sale to Israel

DON'T MISS

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

UP NEXT

Judge Blocks Trump From Placing 2,200 USAID Workers on Paid Leave

UP NEXT

More Active Duty Troops Will Head to US-Mexico Border, Bringing the Total to 3,600

UP NEXT

With Immigrant Backgrounds, Vang, Leon Barraza Seek Fresno Council Seat

UP NEXT

Justice Department Won’t Release Names of FBI Agents Who Worked on Jan. 6 Riot Cases

UP NEXT

What Is the International Criminal Court and How Will Trump’s Sanctions Impact It?

UP NEXT

The Slash-and-Burn Tactics Musk Brings to Washington Often Backfired at Twitter

UP NEXT

Israel Starts Planning for Palestinians to Leave Gaza Despite International Rejection

UP NEXT

12 States to Sue Over DOGE Access to Government Payment Systems Containing Personal Data

UP NEXT

Trump Meets With Congressional Republicans as GOP Lawmakers Argue Over Tax and Spending Cuts

UP NEXT

2nd Federal Judge in 2 Days Blocks President Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

3 hours ago

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

4 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

4 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

4 hours ago

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

4 hours ago

State Department Lays out Plans for $7 Billion-Plus Arms Sale to Israel

4 hours ago

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

4 hours ago

Fresno Mission Opens Second Thrift Store Supporting Homeless, Recovering Addicts

4 hours ago

Judge Blocks Trump From Placing 2,200 USAID Workers on Paid Leave

5 hours ago

Alaska Legislature Asks Trump to Retain Denali’s Name

6 hours ago

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed laws Friday setting aside $50 million to help the state protect its policies from c...

3 hours ago

FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom waits for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to step off Air Force One upon their arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
3 hours ago

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

3 hours ago

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

Hanford police arrested a suspect in a fatal shooting outside an In-N-Out, believed to be linked to an illegal drug transaction. (Hanford PD)
3 hours ago

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

3 hours ago

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

Ice is visible in the Bering Sea Jan. 22, 2020, as seen from a small plane airplane near the western Alaska coast. (AP File)
4 hours ago

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

President Donald Trump smiles as he arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
4 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

Fresno police are searching for Tommy Savala, 75, who was last seen Thursday morning near Simpson Avenue and North Fresno Street. (Fresno PD)
4 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

McLane and Duncan Polytechnical high school students walked out Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, to protest deportations, marching down Cedar Avenue. (GV Wire/Eric Martinez)
4 hours ago

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend