Violence on January 6 was Mike Pence’s fault, Trump claims

Donald Trump and his former Vice President Mike Pence got into a blame game on Jan. 6, with the ex-president saying it was actually his second-in-command who caused the day’s chaos.

“If he had sent the votes back to the legislature, they wouldn’t have had a problem with January 6, so in many ways you can blame him for January 6,” the former president said, referring to Pence’s refusal not to call . certify Electoral College results in Congress.

“If he had sent them back to Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, the United States, I believe, number one, you would have had a different result. But I also believe you wouldn’t have had ‘January 6,’ as we call it,” he told reporters in Davenport, Iowa.

Over the weekend, at the Gridiron dinner in Washington DC, Pence had laid the blame squarely on Trump for the riot at the Capitol.

“President Trump was wrong,” Pence said. “I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone in the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”

“History will hold Donald Trump accountable for January 6,” Pence told his former boss’ crowd.

It is believed that Pence is about to jump into the race for president in 2024 and Trump is going full steam ahead with a third run for high office as he campaigns in Iowa on Monday night.

Trump mused that Pence’s attack on him was prompted by his single-digit showings in polls of a hypothetical matchup of GOP presidential candidates.

Pence also criticized those who downplayed Jan. 6 in an apparent joke against Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, who obtained archival security footage of speaker Kevin McCarthy and aired nonviolent moments at the Capitol during his show.

“Make no mistake, what happened that day was a disgrace,” Pence said. “And it mocks decency to paint it any other way.”

He also praised the media for its coverage on January 6.

“We were able to stay at our posts partly because you stayed at your posts,” he told reporters covering the uprising. “The American people know what happened that day because you never stopped reporting.”

After talking to Washington insiders and the media this weekend, Pence will campaign in New Hampshire on Thursday and Iowa on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the White House has demanded an apology from Pence after he mocked Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg for going on ‘maternity leave’.

Chasten Buttigieg, Pete’s husband, shared a photo of Pete holding their premature baby.

“A fair question for you, @Mike_Pence, after your attempted joke this weekend. If your grandchild were born prematurely and put on a ventilator at two months old – their little fingers wrapped around yours while the monitors beep in the background – where would you be?’ Chasten wrote on Twitter along with the photo.

Over the weekend, at Washington’s annual Gridiron Dinner, Pence said Buttigieg, who is gay, was going on “maternity leave” as Americans struggled with airline issues in 2021. .

Buttigieg and his husband Chasten welcomed twins Joseph August (named Gus) and Penelope Rose in August 2021.

Several Republicans mocked the Secretary of Transportation for taking at least three months of paid leave while President Joe Biden tried to pass his infrastructure bill on Capitol Hill. At the same time, US seaports were experiencing a serious gridlock due to supply chain issues.

“Pete is the only person in human history to have a child, and everyone else gets postpartum depression,” Pence joked over dinner.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denounced the comment and demanded an apology.

“The former vice president’s homophobic joke about Secretary Buttigieg was offensive and inappropriate, especially since he treated women suffering from postpartum depression as a punchline,” she said in a statement. “He should apologize to women and LGBTQ people, who are entitled to dignity and respect.”

The Gridiron Dinner attracts hundreds of journalists and politicians each year and features skits and comedic speeches from major guests. It also featured teasing from Democrats, including Sec. of the state Antony Blinken and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.

Pence’s former chief of staff, Marc Short, mocked criticism of the comments as “phony outrage.”

“The hypocrisy is especially great when you consider that their own Secretary of State Antony Blinken joked that he longed for ‘the old days’ when ‘Jews did all the work,'” Short said.

“The White House would be wise to focus less on appeasing the awakened police and more on bank failures, near-miss planes, train derailments and the ongoing supply chain crisis.”