Pence is to blame for the chaos at the Capitol on January 6, says Donald Trump

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Former President Donald Trump responded to fresh criticism from his former No. 2 Mike Pence, suggesting Monday that the former vice president was to blame for the violence in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Trump said that if Pence had refused to certify the results of the 2020 election, rioters would not have breached the Capitol building in an attempt to stop a joint session of Congress. Pence has resisted efforts to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory, citing that he does not have the authority to do so.

PENCE SAYS ‘HISTORY WILL HOLD’ TRUMP ACCOUNTABLE FOR JAN. 6 ON THE GRIDIRON WORDS

“If he had given the votes back to the legislatures, they wouldn’t have had a problem on January 6, so in many ways, you can blame him,” Trump told reporters after holding a campaign event in Davenport, Iowa, on monday “If he sent them back to Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, the states, I believe … you would have a different result. But I also believe that you will not have ‘Jan. 6,’ as we call it.”

Trump’s comments were in response to criticism from Pence over the weekend that the former president was “wrong” to demand that he return the election results.

“His reckless words put my family and everyone in the Capitol at risk that day. And I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” Pence said at a dinner Saturday in Washington. .

Trump brushed off those comments, saying Pence was just trying to boost his standing ahead of an expected presidential run. Pence has not said whether he plans to launch a White House bid, but the former vice president has made himself a familiar face on the campaign trail.

“I guess he figured that being nice is not working. But, you know, he’s out there campaigning. And he’s trying very hard. And he’s a nice man. I know him. I had a very good relationship until the end,” said by Trump about Pence.

Before Congress convened on January 6, 2021, to certify the results of the 2020 election, Pence sought legal advice on whether he had the ability to unilaterally deny certification. Trump was reportedly furious at Pence’s determination that he did not have that power, according to testimony by multiple witnesses before the committee on January 6 of last year.

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Trump also pointed to new legislation passed by Congress in December that clarifies the process for verifying votes in the Electoral College, arguing those changes give Pence the power to reject the results if he wants.

“He has the right to send them back, otherwise they would not have changed the Voting Act. They all said, ‘He has no rights, he is a conveyor belt man, he has no rights even for fraud.’ And then the day after he did it, they said, ‘Now we’re going to change it so he doesn’t do it.’ That means, you understand that, that means he has the right to do it,” Trump said, according to the Washington Post.

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