Pence: History will hold Donald Trump 'accountable' for Capitol attack

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Mar 2023 09:02

Speaking at the annual Gridiron dinner, the former Vice President lashes out at his one-time former boss US President Donald Trump.

Mike Pence speaking at a press conference (AFP)

Former Vice President Mike Pence has chastised his former boss Donald Trump, stating that history would "hold him accountable" for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Pence was in the Capitol at the time when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the building in an attempt to prevent Congress from recognizing the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden.

Pence was presiding over what had historically been the ceremonial process of approving the electoral college votes, as the Vice President has the constitutional position of Senate President.

Throughout the siege, Trump issued multiple tweets, one of which urged Republicans to "fight" and another of which made bogus accusations about voter fraud. He also chastised Pence for approving the results.

Addressing journalists and guests at the Gridiron dinner, a yearly white-tie event in Washington, Pence said, “President Trump was wrong.”

“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 that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” he added.

During the Capitol attack, Pence, who is now eyeing a candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, was taken to safety by law officers.

In the months that followed, Pence rarely mentioned January 6, but he has recently increased his criticism of the rioters and Trump's behavior on that day. In a November memoir, he accused Trump of putting his family at risk.

“What happened that day was a disgrace,” Pence said. “And it mocks decency to portray it any other way. For as long as I live, I will never, ever diminish the injuries sustained, the lives lost, or the heroism of law enforcement on that tragic day.”

Pence's words come a few days after the conservative television host Tucker Carlson aired misleading surveillance footage of the Capitol attack, in an attempt to suggest that many of the rioters were "orderly".

Democrats and some high-profile Republicans in the Senate slammed Carlson's portrayal, while many other Republicans, particularly in the House of Representatives, laughed it off.