Former VP Mike Pence Harshly Criticized Donald Trump, Says He Endangered His Family

The former Vice President has once again spoken out against his former friend Donald Trump, but this time may be the harshest yet.

On Saturday, at the annual white-tie Gridiron Dinner attended by politicians and journalists, Pence called out Trump for his involvement in the Jan. 6 riot.

“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 history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” he said.

His remarks come as the two prepare to go after the Republican nomination in next year’s presidential election. And they are a stark comparison to when he stood behind Trump as a loyal friend and lieutenant.

Before the attack on the Capitol, Trump urged Pence to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory as he presided over the ceremonial certification of the results, ABC News reported. However, Pence refused, and when rioters stormed the Capitol, some chanted that they wanted to “hang Mike Pence.”

The House committee launched an investigation into the riot, concluding in its final report that “the President of the United States had riled up a mob that hunted his own Vice President.”

Pence doubled down on his stance over the riot, “Make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace,” Pence said in his Gridiron Dinner remarks. “And it mocks decency to portray it any other way.”

While Trump remains consistent by spreading lies about his election loss and has shown support to his “devoted” supporters who took part in the riot and said he would consider pardoning them if he was re-elected.

Speeches at the Gridiron Dinner usually contain humor and light-hearted jokes, which Pence did plenty of.

At one point, he joked that his former friend’s ego was so fragile, he wanted his VP to sing “Wind Beneath My Wings” — one of the lines is “did you ever know that you’re my hero?” — during their weekly lunches.

And then another, “I read that some of those classified documents they found at Mar-a-Lago were actually stuck in the president’s Bible,” Pence said. “Which proves he had absolutely no idea they were there.”