VEEP STAKES: Did Mike Pence really just say what we think he did about Trump?

PENCE-SIEVE: Former VP just can't pick a lane when it comes to Trump

In a new interview, former Vice President Mike Pence offers some commentary on the January 6th attacks, and Donald Trump’s role in them, admitting that Trump was “part of the problem” on that day.

Pence has let his views on Trump slip a few times post-presidency, but it’s typically brief and somewhat indirect, such as suggesting he’d cast his vote for a different candidate in the 2024 election.

This time, though, Pence directly places guilt on Trump’s head, although he hedges slightly by naming the former president as “part of the problem,” rather than the initial impetus. This seems to be a new post-midterms direction, following an op-ed in which he also laid out some of the interactions he had with Trump in advance of that attack.

He also still seemed to be hedging by describing Trump’s words, in a tweet that pointed the murderous mob at the VP himself, as “reckless,” which downplays the intent behind the tweet.

Recall that the January 6th Committee has shown through testimony and evidence that when Trump sent the tweet in question, he already knew the Capitol had been breached, and that the mob was armed.

Pence told ABC:

That angered me…The president’s words were reckless. It’s clear he decided to be part of the problem.

Trump had told his fans that Pence could change the outcome of the election by choosing not to certify the electoral vote, sending votes back to the states and buying time to fight for a different decision than the one voters had made.

Now, with his MAGA supporters inside the Capitol, and Pence determined to uphold Constitutional law and do his duty in the procedure, Trump tweeted out:

Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!

His full interview airs Monday night, and a teaser suggests he also fills in some other blanks about his own experience on January 6th and shares views on Trump as President in the future.

Stephanie Bazzle

Steph Bazzle is a news writer who covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph. Sign up for all of her stories to be delivered to your inbox here: