‘The American people will not stand for’ another January 6, says Mike Pence as he defends Trump’s calls for protests and criticizes the Manhattan district attorney for making prosecution of the former president a ‘top priority’ amid rising crime crime in New York.
- Some warn of a repeat of January 6 with the possible impeachment of Trump.
- Pence says the US ‘will not tolerate’ another major politically violent event
- Trump’s social media post calling to protest the impeachment gave many deja vu for what happened in 2021
Mike Pence defended Donald Trump’s calls for his supporters to protest a possible impending impeachment, arguing that the demonstrations are unlikely to turn violent because the public will not “put up with” another disaster like the one on January 6.
The former vice president is among the most vocal 2024 potential candidates against Trump being indicted this week in a case involving hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued a memo over the weekend assuring staff that they are taking precautions to address threats against the office.
The possibility of an impeachment has only bolstered support for Trump on the right.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that Americans will not “tolerate” another politically violent event like January 6 while defending Trump’s protest calls over his possible impeachment.
Some have warned of a repeat of January 6 with Trump’s call to action
“I am struck by the idea of impeaching a former president of the United States, at a time when there is a crime wave in New York City,” Pence told ABC This Week host Jonathan Karl on Sunday. “I think the fact that the Manhattan district attorney thinks that impeaching President Trump is his top priority, he just tells you everything you need to know about the radical left in this country.”
Pence, who reiterated during the interview that he is considering a 2024 run for president, denounced the entire case against Trump as a “politically charged prosecution.”
“I feel like it’s not what the American people want to see,” the Republican said. “We have real challenges in this country today.”
‘People are facing record inflation, a crisis at our border. We have a war in Eastern Europe, the American people are anxious about the future and here we go again, back to another politically charged impeachment against the former president of the United States,” he continued.
I would only expect better.
Trump sent out a tweet over the weekend asking his supporters to take to the streets and protest his arrest or impeachment.
Many felt this was a repeat of what happened on January 6 when Trump took to social media to encourage his supporters to demonstrate against lawmakers who certified the results of the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021, thereby that led to the infamous attack on the Capitol that day.
“The American people have a constitutional right to assemble peacefully,” Pence said when asked about Trump’s call to action.
Pence told a meeting on ABC This Week that the “politically charged prosecution” of Trump should not be the “priority” of the Manhattan district attorney amid a crime wave in the city.
“We know what happened the last time you said that,” Karl pressed.
“I think the frustration that the American people feel about what they feel is a two-tiered justice system in this country is well founded, but I think people understand that if they give a voice to this, if this happens on Tuesday, that it must be done peacefully and lawfully,’ insisted the former vice president.
“That the violence that occurred on January 6, the violence that occurred in cities across this country in the summer of 2020 was shameful,” he added. “The American people will not stand for it and those who engage in such violence must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Karl played for Pence an argument with Trump where the former president appeared to apologize for the actions of those who on January 6, 2021 called for the then vice president to be hanged.
“There was no excuse for the violence that took place on Capitol Hill on January 6, and I will never abate it as long as I live,” Pence responded.
“The president is wrong,” he continued. He screwed up that day and… In fact, he hoped he’d recover in time, Jon, to realize that the cadre of legal advisers he surrounded himself with had led him astray.
“But he hasn’t and I think that’s one of the reasons the country just wants a fresh start,” he said, hinting that there must be new leadership in the Republican Party as the campaign for the elections intensifies. 2024 presidential primaries.