Tucker Carlson grilled former Vice President Mike Pence, running to become the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, over the January 6, 2021 riot at the United States Capitol, asking whether he believed it was an “insurrection,” as the establishment media has repeatedly claimed.
During a GOP presidential candidate summit hosted by Carlson, Blaze Media, and the Heritage Foundation, among others, Carlson asked Pence his thoughts on the riot that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, just as Congress was certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
A part of the exchange went as follows:
CARLSON: I have to ask you since you were a witness to, and in some way a participant in one of the most widely covered events in American history, January 6. What was that? Do you think that was an insurrection?
PENCE: Well first … as to that day, all I know for sure having lived through it at the capitol is that it was a tragic day. I’ve never used the word ‘insurrection,’ Tucker, over the last two years. It was a riot that took place at the capitol that day. I saw firsthand where they’d evacuated us down to the loading dock, below the Senate chamber, police officers that as the day wore on were streaming through — 150 law enforcement officers that were assaulted. Obviously, the tragic loss of life ransacking the capitol that occurred. But I really do believe that a day of tragedy became a triumph for freedom. And I’ll always believe that by God’s grace I did my duty that day under the Constitution of the United States of America and our institutions held.
CARLSON: When you say ‘the tragic loss of life,’ who are you referring to?
PENCE: Well obviously Ashli Babbitt would come to mind immediately. When I think of–
CARLSON: What do you think about the fact that she was shot?
PENCE: Well, I just think it was a tragic moment without question. But I have to tell you that seeing people assaulting law enforcement officers, smashing windows, breaking into the capitol building — it infuriated me. It’s very likely that the restraint shown by law enforcement officers saved lives that day. But I think it’s important that we hold those accountable who perpetrated acts of violence and vandalism in our nation’s capitol. But also, I’m still waiting for equal vigor and equal prosecutions for those that brought hundreds of [Black Lives Matter] riots to cities across America.
Tucker: "Do you think (J6) was an insurrection?"
Pence: "I've never used the word 'insurrection.' It was a riot." pic.twitter.com/RQ2fh7ZxaF
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 14, 2023
Pence also blasted former President Donald Trump, claiming his “words that day were reckless,” though he did not state exactly which remarks he was referring to.
“I believe whatever [Trump’s] intentions in that moment, it endangered me and my family and everybody that was at the capitol that day,” Pence said. “I believe history will hold Trump accountable for that just as the law will hold everyone accountable that engaged in acts of violence.”
Pence said he supported the Justice Department’s extensive prosecutions of those who attended the January 6 riot but noted that he wanted equal justice brought to “people that engaged in the hundreds of riots in the summer of 2020,” saying they “must be held to account.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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