Then-Vice President Mike Pence’s actions on Jan. 6 left him “mortally wounded,” former President Donald Trump said over the weekend.
It was a pointed choice of words from Trump, given the “hang Mike Pence!” chants that Trump’s supporters yelled as they attacked the Capitol.
Specifically, Trump said at a Florida stop on Bill O’Reilly’s “History Tour,” he continues to be upset that Pence didn’t disregard the will of voters and steal him a second term.
“I was disappointed in one thing, but it was a big thing. Mike should have sent those crooked votes back to the legislatures and you would have had a different result in the election, in my opinion,” Trump said. CNN flagged his remarks Tuesday.
“I think Mike has been very badly hurt by what took place in respect to January 6,” Trump said. “I think he’s been mortally wounded, frankly, because I see the reaction he’s getting from people.”
Pence’s refusal to subvert the will of voters on Trump’s behalf was a major turning point on Jan. 6 — at least, according to Trump’s own legal adviser.
“The ‘siege’ is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so that the American people can see for themselves what happened,” John Eastman, a lawyer who’d advised Trump on methods to switch the election outcome, emailed a Pence aide during the attack.
Trump attacked Pence in a tweet that day minutes after the vice president was evacuated from the Senate chamber for his own safety.
Asked later about the “Hang Mike Pence!” chants, Trump defended his blood-thirsty supporters.
“Well, the people were very angry,” he told ABC’s Jonathan Karl.
