US: Pence slams Trump over role in Capitol attack

Donald Trump put the safety of everyone in the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in danger with his claims that victory had been stolen from him in 2020 elections, and history would hold him to account for it, former US Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday.

On that day just over two years ago, Trump supporters rampaged through the rooms of the Capitol building in an attempt to stop the certification of the election results, which saw current President Joe Biden chosen as Trump's successor.

The criticism of Trump is some of the strongest offered yet of the former president by Pence, who is considering running for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election.

Trump has in the past stated that he wanted Pence to use his constitutional role of Senate president to overturn the election — something Pence would by law have been unable to do.

What did Pence say?

Speaking at the annual dinner of the Gridiron Club, a prestigious journalistic organization in Washington, Pence said Trump had been wrong to assert that the election was manipulated.

"President Trump was wrong," Pence said. "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."

"What happened that day was a disgrace," he 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," he added.

His remarks would seem to indicate that Pence is seeking to strongly distance himself from his former boss, who is also running for Republican nomination as a presidential candidate.

What did Trump do on January 6, 2021?

Ahead of the attack, which he physically did not participate in, Trump spoke at a rally of his supporters in Washington, where he repeated false claims that the election had been stolen.

"If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore," he said.

Throughout the siege, which got underway during and after his speech, Trump wrote a number of tweets, with one again calling on Republicans to "fight."

He also used the messaging platform to criticize Pence for certifying the results as the Senate president, a purely ceremonial task that was to have been carried out that day.

Law enforcement officials took Pence to safety during the attack.

tj/ar (Reuters, AFP)