Former Vice President Mike Pence laid into former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, accusing him of prioritizing himself over the Constitution — and blasting his latest run for the White House as a “distraction.”
Pence’s strongly worded condemnation of his former running mate came in response to Trump’s third indictment in four months, charging the 45th president for his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
“Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States,” Pence tweeted Tuesday. “I will have more to say about the government’s case after reviewing the indictment.”
“The former president is entitled to the presumption of innocence but with this indictment, his candidacy means more talk about January 6th and more distractions,” Pence continued. “As Americans, his candidacy means less attention paid to Joe Biden’s disastrous economic policies afflicting millions across the United States and to the pattern of corruption with Hunter [Biden].”
Mike Pence blasted Donald Trump following his indictment related to the Jan. 6 riot, accusing his former boss of putting himself over the Constitution. Getty Images
Trump, 77, was indicted by the Justice Department for his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Getty ImagesPence, 64, who is challenging Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, added that the country was “more important than one man,” and that the US Constitution was “more important than any one man’s career.”
“On January 6th, Former President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution,” Pence added, referring to Trump’s efforts during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol to get him to halt the certification of electoral votes. “I chose the Constitution and I always will.”
The rift that opened between Trump and Pence in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot has only deepened in the intervening years.
During last year’s public hearing by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 events, a former aide to Trump’s then-chief of staff Mark Meadows testified under oath that when the president heard his supporters chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” he told White House staff that his vice president “deserves” it.
Earlier this year, Pence came out strongly against his former boss, saying he was “wrong” to ask him to overturn the results of the election.
“And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day,” Pence said at the annual Gridiron Dinner in March, “and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
Trump faces charges for conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
If convicted of the latest charges brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith, Trump could face up to 55 years in prison — but that would not automatically exclude the 77-year-old billionaire from the 2024 presidential election, in which he is the front-runner for the GOP nomination.
On Wednesday afternoon, Pence doubled down on his sharp rebuke of his one-time boss.
“I’ll always stand by the truth,” the former VP told Fox News host Martha MacCallum.
Pence previously said that Trump, who was quoted as saying that his VP deserved chants of “Hang Mike Pence” from his supporters, endangered him and his family. AFP via Getty Images“The first time I heard speculation that as vice president I’d have the authority to overturn the election by returning or rejecting votes, I frankly dismissed it out of hand,” he added.
However, Pence added that he “can’t really speak to the legal arguments behind” the latest indictment against Trump and expressed weariness of the “weaponization at the Justice Department.”
“I do believe while there has been weaponization at the Justice Department, and we certainly lived through it [during] the Trump-Pence years, that at the end of the day history will hold Donald Trump accountable for his reckless words and actions on that day,” he reiterated.
Minutes after Pence wrapped up his appearance, Trump tore into his former running mate on Truth Social.
“I feel badly for Mike Pence, who is attracting no crowds, enthusiasm, or loyalty from people who, as a member of the Trump Administration, should be loving him,” the former president wrote.
“He didn’t fight against Election Fraud, which we will now be easily able to prove based on the most recent Fake Indictment & information which will have to be made available to us, finally – a really BIG deal,” Trump continued. “The V.P. had power that Mike didn’t understand, but after the Election, the RINOS & Dems changed the law, taking that power away!”
Trump already faces 40 felony counts related to his storage of classified national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, making him first former president to be slapped with a federal indictment.
Separately, Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury in March for falsifying business records to conceal “hush money” payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.
