Mike Pence Condemns Tucker Carlson’s Portrayal Of January 6th, Says History “Will Hold Donald Trump Accountable” For That Day
“I was there at the Capitol, and let me assure you it was not, as some would have us believe, a matter of tourists peacefully enjoying our Capitol.”
He added, “Tourists don’t injure 140 police officers by sightseeing. Tourists don’t break down doors to get to the Speaker of the House. Or voice threats against public officials. The American people have a right to know what took place at the Capitol on January 6. I expect members of Fourth Estate to continue to do their job. Make no mistake about it — what happened that day was a disgrace and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way.”
Pence recounted his experience at the Capitol that day, as he refused Secret Service pleas to leave the complex to ensure his safety.
“When I was escorted off the Senate floor Secret Service told me that I had to leave the building,” Pence said. “But I was determined to stay. I believed that law enforcement would soon have the situation in hand, never imagining what would unfurl, would occur. But it was there in that small office just off the Senate chamber, there was a small television set, and we watched what was unfolding outside — the mayhem and the rioting. You could hear it echoing outside, and soon thereafter in the hallways.”
He added, “I always told my kids that the safest place in the world is to be in the center of God’s will. I knew where we were supposed to be, doing what we were supposed to be doing.”
Pence then said that Trump’s conduct put his family in danger.
”I was not afraid but I was angry. President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day. And I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable” for what happened.
Pence told Deadline afterward that he made the remarks about Carlson because he was concerned about “that narrative taking hold,” meaning the Fox News host’s effort to minimize the severity of the attack.
Pence said that as the riot worsened on January 6th, his lead Secret Service detail came in for a third time, speaking “with greater urgency in his voice, saying that we need to leave the building. But I felt resolved. The more he insisted the more I did. I finally put my finger in his chest and I said, ‘You’re not hearing. I’m not leaving. I’m not giving those people the sight of a 16-car motorcade speeding away from the Capitol.’ “
