Senator JD Vance from Ohio said on Wednesday that he doubts whether former Vice President Mike Pence was truly in danger during the riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
During an interview on CNN’s “The Source,” reporter Kaitlan Collins asked Vance if he had any concerns about potentially being chosen as former President Trump’s running mate, given how Trump treated Pence. Vance shifted the conversation to his concerns about President Biden, but Collins repeated her question.
Collins pointed out that Biden did not call Pence when his life was in danger during the Capitol riots and asked if Vance had any concerns about being Trump’s vice president. Vance said he hadn’t spoken to Trump about it and expressed skepticism about Pence’s safety during the riots.
Vance said, “I’m truly skeptical that Mike Pence’s life was ever in danger. I think politics and politicians like to really exaggerate things from time to time.” Collins disagreed, mentioning the chants of “Hang Mike Pence” during the riots.
Vance acknowledged that some people said bad things, but he didn’t believe Trump should be blamed for everything said by participants in American democracy.
The Secret Service confirmed in 2022 that Pence was taken to an underground loading dock during the riots, where he waited with his family for about five hours. Pence described feeling angry but not afraid during the incident.
Pence has criticized Trump’s actions on January 6 and defended his own decision to certify the 2020 election results. He briefly ran for president last year but dropped out in October.
