In audio obtained by Axios, Donald Trump defended supporters who threatened to “hang” former Vice President Mike Pence.
The audio clip comes from a taped interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News taken on March 18 in Mar-a-Lago for Karl’s new book, “Betrayal,” which will be released on Tuesday.
Jonathan Karl: “Were you worried about him during that siege? Were you worried about his safety?”
- Trump: “No, I thought he was well-protected, and I had heard that he was in good shape. No. Because I had heard he was in very good shape. But, but, no, I think — “
Karl: “Because you heard those chants — that was terrible. I mean — ”
- Trump: “He could have — well, the people were very angry.”
Karl: “They were saying ‘hang Mike Pence.'” I’ll
- Trump: “Because it’s common sense, Jon. It’s common sense that you’re supposed to protect. How can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? — how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress? How can you do that? And I’m telling you: 50/50, it’s right down the middle for the top constitutional scholars when I speak to them. Anybody I spoke to — almost all of them at least pretty much agree, and some very much agree with me — because he’s passing on a vote that he knows is fraudulent. How can you pass a vote that you know is fraudulent? Now, when I spoke to him, I really talked about all of the fraudulent things that happened during the election. I didn’t talk about the main point, which is the legislatures did not approve — five states. The legislatures did not approve all of those changes that made the difference between a very easy win for me in the states, or a loss that was very close, because the losses were all very close.”
In 2024, the two men are expected to run against each other for the GOP nomination.
More breaking news audio from the interview will air on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
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