Vice President Mike Pence has slammed Donald Trump's baseless claims
Donald Trump is 'wrong' when he says the election could be thrown out: VP of US
Former Vice President Mike Pence has slammed Donald Trump's baseless claims that he could have swayed the 2020 election results, stating that the former president was simply "wrong."
Pence addressed Trump's increased efforts this week to spread the false narrative that, as vice president, he had the unilateral ability to prohibit President Joe Biden from taking office in a speech to the conservative Federalist Society in Florida on Friday.
Pence stated, "President Trump is incorrect." "I didn't have the authority to reverse the election." Pence's statement was his most emphatic yet in his rebuttal to Trump, who has spent his post-presidency stoking the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen from him. It also comes as Pence begins building the basis for a possible presidential candidacy in 2024, which may pit him against his former boss, who is also considering a comeback.
The two men's relationship took on a new aspect this week as Trump intensified his attacks on Pence.
Trump stated in a statement Tuesday that the committee looking into the deadly Capitol attack on January 6 should instead look into "why Mike Pence did not send back the votes for recertification or approval." He again criticised Pence on Sunday, falsely claiming that "he could have overturned the election!"
Vice presidents have only a ceremonial role in the Electoral College vote count, and any attempt to influence with the count would have been a serious breach of the law and an attack on the democratic process.
Pence depicted January 6, 2021 as "a terrible day in the history of the United States Capitol" in his remarks to a group of lawyers in Lake Buena Vista on Friday, and framed his actions on that day as in keeping with his responsibility as a constitutional conservative.
He told the audience on Friday, "The American people must know that we will always keep our oath to the Constitution, even when it is politically expedient to do otherwise." He pointed out that "elections are conducted at the state level, not by Congress," and that "the primary responsibility of Congress with respect to the Electoral College is to open and count votes presented and certified by the states," according to Article II Section One of the Constitution. "Nothing more, nothing less."
He went on to criticise individuals who claim this isn't the case.
"To be honest, there is no idea more un-American than the thought that any single person could elect the president of the United States," he continued. "Under the Constitution, I had no right to overturn the election results." When we vanquish them in 2024, Kamala Harris will have no power to reverse the election."
The audience applauded Pence's remark about defeating the Democrats in the 2016 presidential election, but was deafeningly quiet when Pence remarked earlier that "Trump is wrong." Republican officials gathered in Utah to align themselves even more closely with the former president as Pence countered Trump in Florida. Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois were censured by the Republican National Committee for serving on the committee probing the January 6 insurgency. The panel was also chastised by the GOP for "persecuting regular persons engaged in legal political dialogue."
On January 6, Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the presidential election when a crowd of Trump supporters stormed their way into the Capitol, beating police officers and pursuing politicians. Pence was forced to safety as protesters screamed "Hang Mike Pence!" Pence, who released a statement seconds before the session began stating that he had no authority to overrule the will of the voters, was rushed to safety as some rioters chanted "Hang Mike Pence!"
In his remarks on Friday, the former vice president acknowledged the residual resentment among Trump's supporters while also saying it was time to "concentrate on the future." "The truth is, there's a lot more at stake than our party's or electoral fortunes," says the author "he stated "If we lose faith in the Constitution, men and women, we will not only lose elections, but we will lose our country."
Requests for comment on Trump's remarks were not immediately returned. Soon later, Trump issued a statement criticising the Jan. 6 committee, but he made no mention of Pence.
Trump's rising language comes as the committee continues to investigate him, having interviewed hundreds of witnesses, issued dozens of subpoenas, and received reams of government papers that Trump attempted to conceal.
It also comes as a bipartisan group of senators pushes to alter the Electoral Count Act to clarify the function of the vice president.
Pence has so far attempted to thread a needle with his January 6 actions, which continue to outrage substantial segments of Trump's base, potentially complicating his presidential campaign in 2024.
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