Even after his life was endangered during the Capitol insurrection earlier this year that then-President Trump incited, former Vice President Mike Pence has begun boosting the same election falsehoods that incensed the rioters.
In an op-ed published in The Daily Signal on Wednesday, Pence falsely described the 2020 election as “marked by significant voting irregularities and numerous instances of officials setting aside state election law.”
The then-Vice President had served as the presiding officer at the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, during which he oversaw the certification of the Electoral College results. In his Wednesday op-ed, he said that he had pledged to ensure that all objections raised by GOP members that day would be given a full hearing.
That duty, the former VP wrote, was upended by the deadly Capitol insurrection that happened shortly after Trump told his supporters to “fight like hell.”
“The tragic events of Jan. 6 — the most significant being the loss of life and violence at our nation’s Capitol — also deprived the American people of a substantive discussion in Congress about election integrity in America,” Pence wrote.
Pence went on to take aim at congressional Democrats by accusing them of “a brazen attempt” to “nationalize elections,” citing the House’s vote this week on the For the People Act that would expand voting access, especially in communities most affected by the voting restrictions being pushed by Republicans in many states.
Pence decried the legislation as a violation of the First Amendment that would stand in the way of state-based election reform, while attempting to fear-monger the public out of supporting the For the People Act.
“Leftists not only want you powerless at the ballot box, they want to silence and censor anyone who would dare to criticize their unconstitutional power grab,” Pence wrote.
Pence also leaned into the GOP’s new fixation on “cancel culture,” characterizing the For the People Act as a means for the left to engage in a “cancel culture crusade.”
The former vice president concluded by parroting congressional Republicans’ comical calls for unity after spending months egging on the former president’s bogus claims of widespread election fraud that ultimately led up to the deadly Capitol insurrection.
“After a year in which our nation has endured a global pandemic, economic hardship, and a contentious election, now is not the time to further inflame passion and division,” Pence wrote. “It is time for our nation’s leaders to help America heal.”
Pence’s op-ed may be part of the former-VP’s effort to get back into Trump’s good graces a few days after the former president delivered remarks at CPAC, solidifying the Republican Party’s loyalty to him, and boosting his efforts to elect more of the Trump faithful in the coming years.
Amid the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 certifying then-President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory, Trump blasted out a tweet railing against Pence for lacking the “courage” to illegally overturn the election results. Trump and Pence reportedly did not speak to each other a few days after the-then VP was hurried out of the Senate chamber minutes ahead of the mob.
