Former VP Mike Pence said he has “no qualms” about President Trump pardoning Jan. 6 defendants — except for the ones who hurt police.
“People who assaulted police officers should never have been pardoned,” Pence said to the crowd Wednesday at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.
Pence, speaking in the institute’s full-sized replica of the US Senate Chamber, also acknowledged a flood of memories upon entering the room. He said he had not been in the actual Senate Chamber since Jan. 6, 2021.
Pence said he is proud that “by God’s grace I did my duty on Jan. 6 to see the peaceful transfer of power in the United States.”
“To be here in a similar environment flooded my mind with memories. I hope it will be remembered as a triumph of freedom thanks to the courage of law enforcement. Every member in the chamber, Republican and Democrat, came back to their post and did their duty and I believe history will remember it that way.”
During an hour-long discussion with Meghan McCain of the Citizen McCain podcast, Pence said that Americans of all political leanings have a duty to condemn violence and promote civility. He didn’t hold back on recent attacks by suspects stoking far-left ideology.
“That should be a wake-up call for my friends in the Democratic party and the leaders on the progressive left,” Pence said. “Political violence has to be universally condemned.”