Donald Trump Blames Mike Pence for January 6 Violence Despite Supporters Claiming It Was 'Peaceful'
Despite many of his cronies saying that January 6 was "mostly peaceful," former President Donald Trump sort of admitted it did turn violent by blaming the entire thing on his second-in-command, former Vice President Mike Pence.
According to the Washington Post, Trump noticed his former running mate's sharp barbs against him during the Gridiron Dinner event and lashed out by saying, "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 for Jan. 6."
This was in reference to Pence choosing the constitution over his loyalty to Trump, who pressured the then-vice president to overturn the elections and name him as the winner instead. Constitutional scholars and law experts said that this would have caused a constitutional crisis if pence had given in to his former boss's pressure.
"Had he sent them back to Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, the states, I believe, number one, you would have had a different outcome. But I also believe you wouldn't have had 'Jan. 6' as we call it," said Trump, continuing his false claims that the elections were stolen and that he should have won the elections.
Donald Trump Previously Defended 'Hang Mike Pence!' Chants from January 6 Rioters
Following January 6, Pence and Trump's relationship had never been the same again. The former president was angry at Pence for declaring Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential elections, while the former vice president was angry at Trump for inciting a violent mob to try and kill him, with them infamously chanting, "Hang Mike Pence!"
MSNBC pointed out that in a March 2021 interview, Donald Trump, who was still fuming at Pence, defended rioters' "hang Mike Pence" chants, describing the chants as "common sense." The former president continued attacking his VP soon after, targeting the former Indiana governor in a far-right gathering and said, "Mike did not have the courage to act."
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Pence recently went on an uncharacteristic tirade against Trump during the Gridiron Dinner in Washington D.C., saying that the former president was wrong and that Trump put his family in danger during the events of January 6.
Despite this, however, Pence still refused to comply with the subpoena to have him testify against Trump about January 6 and is even seeking to block it.
Mike Pence Qas 'Free and Liberated' When He Released Verbal Barbs Against Donald Trump
According to Politico, Mike Pence's advisers saw the Gridiron dinner as an opportunity not just to echo those sentiments but to amplify them, as it was a very much different audience to the usual conservatives and Trump die-hards. It was a more skeptical audience filled with Washington insiders and journalists that would not be swayed by Trump-style rhetoric.
Pence is trying to become the adult-in-a-room candidate for 2024, and his advisers believe that he is in a unique position now that he is not the vice president anymore.
"Mike is in a different place where he can be sort of free and liberated in ways that I don't think others in the field are," said Marc Short, Pence's former vice-presidential chief of staff and his senior adviser. "And so I'm not looking at it as to where he is at this moment. I believe that he's got a good pathway forward."
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
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