Trump defended the threats against Pence on Jan. 6

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“Well, people are very angry,” Trump can be heard telling ABC News’ Jonathan Karl in a taped interview for Karl’s new book, “Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show.” The former President, whose campaign to force Pence to stop Congressional certification of Electoral College votes in 2020, said he thought his vice president was “well protected” while hundreds of pro-Trump protesters stormed the halls of Congress. At the time, several rioters could be heard shouting, “hang Mike Pence,” who was in the Capitol that day presiding over the counting of Senate votes.

“No, I thought he was well protected and I heard he was in good shape,” Trump told Karl, when asked if he was worried about Pence during the siege.

Trump did not contact Pence as the insurgency continued to confirm his safety, and the two men eventually did not speak for days after police cleaned up the building and Congress proceeded to verify the election results. – a process overseen by Pence.

A spokesman for Pence declined to comment to CNN.

Trump sat down with Karl for an interview in March at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The former President has conducted more than a dozen book interviews with various journalists and former aides since leaving office, both in Mar-a-Lago and at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

In his interview with Karl, the former president appeared to suggest that the insurgents on Jan. 6 had a right to be angry with Pence.

“Common sense that you should protect. How do you – if you know a vote is fraudulent, right – how can you pass a fraudulent vote?” said Trump.

Although Trump tried to pressure Pence to block election certification, Pence informed him that he did not have such authority to do so, sources told CNN at the time. Pence dangerously approached some of the rioters in the Jan. 6 attacks, according to The Washington Post. He was evacuated from the Senate chamber just minutes before rioters landed on the landing outside the Senate entrance, less than 100 feet away from where Pence and his family were kept safe, the Post reported.

This story has been updated with more information.

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