Former President Donald Trump called Mike Pence a "good man" who made a "big mistake" following an interview in which the former vice president said there were "irregularities" in the 2020 election.
An email from his Save America PAC highlighted the comments Pence made during a conversation with CBN News while also criticizing him for not attempting to challenge the results while presiding over Congress in January as lawmakers tallied electoral votes amounting to a victory for President Joe Biden.
"Good man, but big mistake on not recognizing the massive voter fraud and irregularities," said the Wednesday missive.
In the interview, to which the email linked, Pence was asked by CBN News's David Brody to respond to "MAGA" supporters who call him a "traitor." Brody noted that the accusations are so consistent that he hears them daily.
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"On Jan. 6, I said that I believe there were irregularities about which I was concerned, and I wanted them to have a fair hearing before the Congress," Pence said. "But from the founding of this nation forward, it's been well established that elections are to be governed at the state level and that the only role that Congress has is to open and count the electoral votes that are submitted by states across the country — no more, no less than that."
Referring back to the 2017 inauguration, Pence said he took an oath to "support and defend" the Constitution.
Despite immense pressure from allies, Pence sent a letter to Congress saying that he did not have the power to reject Electoral College votes, dealing a blow to Trump’s hopes to deny a presidential victory to Biden as he insisted the contest was fraught with fraud and irregularities. Election officials on the federal and state levels, including in Trump's own government, have said they found no evidence of widespread fraud to support his claims of a stolen election.
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Trump insisted to Fox News earlier this year that he and Pence maintain a "good relationship," even after the 45th president criticized his former No. 2 for lacking the "courage" to try and stop lawmakers from certifying the Electoral College vote in favor of Biden, a process disrupted by rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The siege of Congress is now under investigation by a House select committee, which has subpoenaed several of Trump's closest advisers.
Although some of the rioters were threatening Trump's vice president, chanting "hang Mike Pence," the former No. 2 has downplayed the events of the riot as "one day in January" and critiqued the media's focus on it as being a way to distract from the Biden administration's "failed agenda." Trump and Pence are believed to be considering a 2024 presidential run, though neither man has publicly committed to one.