Former VP Mike Pence insists he ‘did the right thing’ on Jan. 6 despite rift with Trump
Mike Pence says he “did the right thing” on Jan. 6 — whether his ex-boss likes it or not.
The former vice president said he obeyed his oath to uphold the Constitution when he presided over Congress certifying President Biden’s win over former President Trump.
“I know in my heart of hearts that on that day, we did our duty under the Constitution,” Pence said in the interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network airing Thursday. “I did the right thing.”
Pence admits Trump does not agree with him and that the onetime allies “may “never see eye to eye” about his refusal to back Trump’s big lie campaign that the election was stolen.
The bitter rift has made Pence an outcast with the #MAGA base of the Republican Party and many pro-Trump extremists chanted “hang Mike Pence” as they stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Pence sought to soft-pedal his actions, saying that he shared the concerns of Trump about “irregularities” in the vote in some swing states, despite dozens of court rulings that say otherwise.
But the ex-veep, who still holds White House aspirations himself, said neither he nor Congress had any right to through a wrench in what is supposed to be a purely ceremonial certification on Jan. 6
“The only role that Congress has is to open and count the electoral votes that are submitted by states across the country, no more, no less than that,” Pence said.
Pence does maintain a strong base of popularity with evangelical Christian conservatives and GOP donors.
He reminded supporters that his devout Christian faith gave him little wiggle room to turn his back on his oath to the Constitution.
“The Bible says in Psalm 15 that he keeps his oath even when it hurts,” Pence said. “On (Jan. 6), I could relate to that sentiment. But I wanted to keep my oath to the Constitution.
Trump justified the attacks on Pence by his supporters, calling it “common sense” for the Capitol rioters to call for the veep’s execution.
“Well, the people were very angry,” Trump said in the interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News.
