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A2 u.s. news
Monday 13 March 2023
Pence says Trump ‘endangered my family’ on Jan. 6
By ZEKE MILLER and said in his Gridiron Dinner
CHRIS MEGERIAN remarks. “And it mocks
Associated Press decency to portray it any
WASHINGTON (AP) — For- other way.”
mer Vice President Mike Trump, meanwhile, has
Pence on Saturday harshly continued to spread lies
criticized former President about his election loss. He’s
Donald Trump for his role even spoken in support
in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. of the rioters and said he
Capitol, widening the rift would consider pardoning
between the two men as them if he was reelected.
they prepare to battle over Speeches at the Gridiron
the Republican nomination Dinner are usually humor-
in next year’s election. ous affairs, where politi-
“President Trump was cians poke fun at each
wrong,” Pence said dur- other, and Pence did plen-
ing remarks at the annual ty of that as well.
white-tie Gridiron Dinner at- He joked that Trump’s ego
tended by politicians and was so fragile, he wanted
journalists. “I had no right his vice president to sing
to overturn the election. “Wind Beneath My Wings”
And his reckless words en- — one of the lines is “did
dangered my family and you ever know that you’re
everyone at the Capitol Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a Coolidge and the American Project luncheon in my hero?” — during their
that day, and I know history the Madison Building of the Library of Congress, Feb. 16, 2023, in Washington. weekly lunches.
will hold Donald Trump ac- Associated Press He took another shot at
countable.” Trump over classified docu-
Pence’s remarks were the ments.
sharpest condemnation “I read that some of those
yet from the once-loyal classified documents they
lieutenant who has often found at Mar-a-Lago were
shied away from confront- actually stuck in the presi-
ing his former boss. Trump dent’s Bible,” Pence said.
has already declared his “Which proves he had ab-
candidacy. Pence has not, solutely no idea they were
but he’s been laying the there.”
groundwork to run. Even before the dinner was
In the days leading up to over, Pence was facing
Jan. 6, 2021, Trump pres- criticism for his jokes about
sured Pence to overturn Transportation Secretary
President Joe Biden’s elec- Buttigieg, the first openly
tion victory as he presided gay Cabinet member in
over the ceremonial certifi- U.S. history.
cation of the results. Pence Pence mentioned that, de-
refused, and when rioters spite travel problems that
stormed the Capitol, some were plaguing Americans,
chanted that they wanted Buttigieg took “maternity
to “hang Mike Pence.” leave” after he and his hus-
The House committee that band adopted newborn
investigated the attack twins.
said in its final report that “Pete is the only person in
“the President of the United human history to have a
States had riled up a mob child and everyone else
that hunted his own Vice gets post-partum depres-
President.” sion,” Pence said.q
With his remarks, Pence
solidified his place in a
broader debate within the
Republican Party over how
to view the attack. House
Speaker Kevin McCarthy,
for example, recently pro-
vided Tucker Carlson with
an archive of security cam-
era footage from Jan. 6,
which the Fox News host
has used to downplay the
day’s events and promote
conspiracy theories.
“Make no mistake about it,
what happened that day
was a disgrace,” Pence
