Pence on Trump's indictment: 'Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president'
Former Vice President Mike Pence condemned former President Donald Trump on Tuesday night after his former running mate and current GOP primary opponent was indicted on charges related to trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States,” Pence said in a statement.
The indictment unveiled by the Justice Department earlier Tuesday details the ways in which Trump leaned on his former vice president in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 capitol riots, encouraging Pence to refuse to certify the results of the election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden.
According to the indictment, Trump told Pence that “you’re too honest” when his vice president balked at the idea that he could block Biden’s win. Pence, who was called to testify in front of the grand jury that delivered the indictment, mentioned the episode in his book “So Help Me God.”
The indictment also alleges that Trump pressed Pence on the scheme to overturn the election when Pence called him on Dec. 25, 2020 to wish him a “Merry Christmas.” Pence responded by telling Trump, “I don’t think I have the authority to change the outcome,” according to the indictment.
In his statement, Pence came out hard against Trump, saying that although the former president is “entitled to the presumption of innocence,” our country “ is more important than one man.”
“Our constitution is more important than any one man’s career,” Pence said.