Former US vice-president Mike Pence has said that history would hold former president Donald Trump “accountable” for his role in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, US media reported.
The remarks are likely to widen the rift between the former running mates, who have been at loggerheads since Pence refused to go along with Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and remain in power.
Pence was in the Capitol when thousands of Trump supporters breached the building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden.
As the vice-president has the constitutional role of Senate president, Pence was presiding over what had always been the ceremonial task of approving the votes of the Electoral College to select the president and vice-president.
Throughout the siege, Trump sent several tweets, one calling on Republicans to “fight” and others making false claims of voter fraud.
He also criticised Pence for certifying the results.
“President Trump was wrong,” Pence said in a speech at the annual Gridiron Dinner in Washington, a white-tie gala put on by journalists that draws top politicians.
“I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day. And I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” Pence was quoted as saying by multiple media outlets.
Some of the thousands who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, called for Pence to be hanged.
Pence was whisked to safety by law enforcement during the attack.
The former vice-president rarely addressed January 6 in the months following the incident, but has since upped his criticism of the rioters and the behaviour of his former boss that day.
He has sharply criticised Trump’s conduct in recent media interviews, and in a memoir released in November, he accused Trump of endangering his family.
Trump has already declared his intention to seek a new term as president in 2024 elections, and Pence indicated that he may challenge him for the Republican nomination.
The Gridiron Dinner is usually a light-hearted event with skits and musical entertainment, and Pence initially sought to poke fun.
“I will wholeheartedly, unreservedly support the Republican nominee for president in 2024 – if it’s me,” he said.
Near the end of his speech, Pence said that there is one issue he would not joke about.
“The American people have a right to know what took place at the Capitol on January 6th,” he said, according to the Washington Post newspaper. “But make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way.”
“For as long as I live, I will never, ever diminish the injuries sustained, the lives lost, or the heroism of law enforcement on that tragic day,” Pence added.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.
Pence’s sharp remarks aimed at Trump were unexpected at the gala.
“Was at the dinner and can confirm @Mike_Pence definitely caught the room by surprise – lots of dropped jaws,” tweeted Maryam Mujica, a former State Department official.
Pence’s remarks came just days after conservative television host Tucker Carlson aired security footage of the Capitol attack, claiming that many of the rioters were “orderly”.
Carlson’s depiction of January 6 was sharply criticised by Democrats and several high-profile Republicans in the Senate, though many other Republicans – particularly in the House – shrugged off the episode.
File photo: Former US Vice President Mike Pence. (AFP)
