Mike Pence says there is no pressure on his calls to governors after the 2020 election

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Former Vice President Mike Pence said there was no pressure involved to overturn the presidential election results from Donald Trump when he called Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey in 2020 at the urging of the then president.

I checked in, not only with Gov. Ducey, but to other governors and states that went through the legal process of reviewing their election results, but there was no pressure involved, said Pence, who is now running for president against Trump, during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS that aired on Sunday.

Pence’s comments came in response to a report by The Washington Post on Saturday, which said Trump “tried to pressure” Ducey into retracting the state’s presidential election results in a phone call late last night. of 2020, according to the paper. Pence also repeatedly called Ducey on behalf of the president but “did not follow Trump’s directions to pressure the governor.”

Ducey did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.

On CBS Sunday, Pence said that at the time, he was only calling to get an update and relayed information to Trump that confirmed the election results.

Look, these states went through a process after so much uncertainty about the outcome of the election in places like Arizona, in places like Georgia. States across the country go through the legal process of joining a review under state law, he said. I got updates on that, passed that on, and no more, at least not that much.

“I don’t remember any pressure,” he added.

Trump angered Ducey, a Republican who has been his close ally throughout the 2020 election, when the Arizona governor signed the state election certification of Bidens victory. At the time, Trump tweeted that Ducey had betrayed the people of Arizona by not supporting the president’s false claim that he actually won the state that, in reality, he lost by more than 10,000 votes.

In video footage of Ducey certifying the results of the state’s November 2020 elections, the governor muted a phone call that played the Hail to the Chief tone of a ringtone he said he used specifically for incoming call from the White House.

In the days before the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, to certify the election results, Trump forced Pence to overturn Bidens victory as he presided over the ceremonial certification of the results. Pence refused Trump’s request, and became the target of some of the rioters who stormed the Capitol that day and chanted Hang Mike Pence.

Pence has increased his criticism of his former boss since he launched his presidential bid in early June, accusing Trump of abandoning conservatism and his constitutional duties.

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