Former Vice President Mike Pence blasted Donald Trump for describing the rioters arrested in connection to the January 6 attack on the Capitol as “hostages,” CBS News reported.
At a March 16 rally near Dayton, Ohio, Trump walked on stage as a recording of a song by January 6 detainees played on the loudspeakers. He later described those jailed for offenses committed during the Capitol riot as “hostages” and claimed that they were treated “terribly.”
In an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” on March 17, Pence, who was a target of the January 6 rioters, was asked by host Margaret Brennan about his former boss’ use of the word “hostages.”
Pence said it was “unfortunate” for Trump “or any other leader” to describe those “moving through our justice system as hostages,” especially at a time when Americans are being held hostage in Gaza.
Pence told Margaret Brennan that he had “no doubt” that some of those arrested had gotten “caught up in the moment” when they stormed the Capitol. At the same time, Pence decried the rioters who assaulted police officers on January 6 and noted that the riot resulted in the loss of lives.
He said January 6 was “tragic” and he would “never diminish it.”
Pence’s comments came just days after he revealed that he would not endorse Trump in the election, something he reiterated on “Face the Nation.”
The former vice president told Margaret Brennan that he could not “in good conscience” endorse his former boss.
He explained that Trump’s views on the January 6 riot were only part of the reason he could not get behind Trump in 2024.
Pence said Trump had departed from “the mainstream conservative agenda” that the Republican Party has supported for more than 40 years and is still “the best hope for the future of the country.”
