Mike Pence says Donald Trump’s tweet on January 6 was reckless,’ ‘endangered’ him, his family

Ahead of his book launch on Tuesday, November 15, former Vice President Mike Pence sat down for an interview with ABC’s David Muir where he revealed his feelings about former President Donald Trump’s tweet during the January 6 Capitol riots in 2021.

Trump has infamously tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution,” while hundreds of his followers stormed the Capitol building following their political idol being defeated in the 2020 presidential election by President Joe Biden. 

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Many of the rioters chanted, “Hang Mike Pence,” as they broke into the Congressional building. Pence was still inside the building when the incident went down. Trump has been criticized for riling up his supporters during the unprecedented event, instead of urging them to calm down and back off. 

When asked about how he felt after seeing the former president’s tweet on that day, Pence did not hold back his feelings during the interview. “It angered me. But 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.’ The president’s words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem,” the former vice president said. 

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Although Pence has been fiercely loyal toward his ex-boss,  through the constant controversies that defined the latter’s administration, he has occasionally criticized Trump, most notably in February, when he publicly denounced Trump’s election lies.

In his memoir So Help Me God being released this week, the former VP writes that Trump urged him to overturn the 2020 election results after his election defeat. According to Pence, Trump said if the suit “gives you the power, why would you oppose it?” At that, Pence “told him, as I had many times, that I didn’t believe I possessed that power under the constitution”.

“You’re too honest. Hundreds of thousands are gonna hate your guts… People are gonna think you’re stupid,” Trump added, according to Pence.