On Friday, former vice president Mike Pence did the unthinkable: He dared say his ex-bestie Donald Trump was “wrong” about something. At a Federalist Society gathering in Florida, Pence addressed Trump’s dubious claims that he had the power to decertify the 2020 election on Jan. 6 of last year. He did not, so he did not, and he said as much very clearly. Did Trump resist the temptation to angrily respond? Of course not.
At the event, Pence addressed the elephant in the room: Trump’s recent comments about him, including as he put it, that in his old gig he “possessed unilateral authority to reject Electoral College votes.” Not so, he correctly stated. “President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election,” Pence said. “The presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people alone. Frankly, there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president.”
Hours later, Trump responded by way of his poorly copy edited press releases.
NEW!
President Donald J. Trump:
"Just saw Mike Pence’s statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count, other than being an automatic conveyor belt for the Old Crow Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected President as quickly… pic.twitter.com/C4ddXREsvm
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) February 5, 2022
“Just saw Mike Pence’s statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count, other than being an automatic conveyor belt for the Old Crow Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected President as quickly as possible,” Trump wrote. “Well, the Vice President’s position is not an automatic conveyor if obvious signs of voter fraud or irregularities exist.”
Trump then doubled down on his dodgy claim that because certain lawmakers are trying to clarify certain laws, it’s an admission that Pence could have overturned the election:
“That’s why the Democrats and RINOs are working feverishly together to change the very law that Mike Pence and his unwitting advisors used on January 6 to say he had no choice. The reason they want it changed is because they now say they don’t want the Vice President to have the right to ensure an honest vote. In other words, I was right and everyone knows it. If there is fraud or large scale irregularities, it would have been appropriate to send those votes back to the legislatures to figure it out. The Dems and RINOs want to take that right away. A great opportunity lost, but not forever, in the meantime our Country is going to hell!”
Another chipper missive from everyone’s favorite optimist.
For Pence, his address on Friday was the strongest rebuke he’s yet made to his former president. Mind you, he’s never rebuked him publicly, even after his violent supporters wanted to hang him outside the Capitol building.
(Via The Hill)