Pence says Trump 'endangered my family' on Jan. 6

Former Vice President Mike Pence connected Saturday harshly criticized erstwhile President Donald Trump for his relation successful the Jan. 6 riot astatine the U.S. Capitol, widening the rift betwixt the 2 men arsenic they hole to conflict implicit the Republican information successful adjacent year's election.

"President Trump was wrong," Pence said during remarks astatine the yearly white-tie Gridiron Dinner attended by politicians and journalists. "I had nary close to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my household and everyone astatine the Capitol that day, and I cognize past volition clasp Donald Trump accountable."

Pence's remarks were the sharpest condemnation yet from the once-loyal lieutenant who has often shied distant from confronting his erstwhile boss. Trump has already declared his candidacy. Pence has not, but he's been laying the groundwork to run.

In the days starring up to Jan. 6, 2021, Trump pressured Pence to overturn President Joe Biden's predetermination triumph arsenic helium presided implicit the ceremonial certification of the results. Pence refused, and erstwhile rioters stormed the Capitol, immoderate chanted that they wanted to "hang Mike Pence."

The House committee that investigated the onslaught said successful its last study that "the President of the United States had riled up a mob that hunted his ain Vice President."

With his remarks, Pence solidified his spot successful a broader statement wrong the Republican Party implicit however to presumption the attack. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, for example, precocious provided Tucker Carlson with an archive of information camera footage from Jan. 6, which the Fox News big has utilized to downplay the day's events and beforehand conspiracy theories.

"Make nary mistake astir it, what happened that time was a disgrace," Pence said successful his Gridiron Dinner remarks. "And it mocks decency to represent it immoderate different way."

Trump, meanwhile, has continued to dispersed lies astir his predetermination loss. He's adjacent spoken successful enactment of the rioters and said helium would see pardoning them if helium was re-elected.

Speeches astatine the Gridiron Dinner are usually humorous affairs, wherever politicians poke amusive astatine each other, and Pence did plentifulness of that arsenic well.

He joked that Trump's ego was truthful fragile, helium wanted his vice president to sing "Wind Beneath My Wings" — 1 of the lines is "did you ever cognize that you're my hero?" — during their play lunches.

He took different changeable astatine Trump implicit classified documents.

"I work that immoderate of those classified documents they recovered astatine Mar-a-Lago were really stuck successful the president's Bible," Pence said. "Which proves helium had perfectly nary thought they were there."

Even earlier the meal was over, Pence was facing disapproval for his jokes astir Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the archetypal openly cheery Cabinet subordinate successful U.S. history.

Pence mentioned that, contempt question problems that were plaguing Americans, Buttigieg took "maternity leave" aft helium and his hubby adopted newborn twins.

"Pete is the lone idiosyncratic successful quality past to person a kid and everyone other gets post-partum depression," Pence said.