History will hold Trump 'responsible' for Capitol storming, Pence says

Mike Pence, former Vice President of the United States

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that history will hold former U.S. President Donald Trump “accountable” for the assault on the Capitol in 2021, US media reported.

President Trump was wrong, his former running mate Mr. Pence said in a speech at the Gridiron Dinner, a gala event hosted by journalists who travel to leading political figures.

I had no right to overturn [the result of] the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone in the Capitol that day. And I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable, Mr. Pence said, quoted by several media.

Among the thousands of protesters who took over the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021, some had called for Mr. Pence to be hanged, forcing Donald Trump's vice president to rush to safety.

These remarks are sure to further widen the rift between the two politicians, who have been at loggerheads since Mike Pence refused to back the ex-president in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election result and stay in power.

Donald Trump has already made public his intention to seek re-election in the 2024 presidential election, and Mike Pence has indicated he may challenge him for the Party nomination republican.

Donald Trump during the announcement of his candidacy for the Republican nomination.

Usually the Gridiron Dinner is a light-hearted event punctuated by sketches and music, and the former vice president initially sought to make the audience laugh.

I will wholeheartedly and wholeheartedly support the Republican candidate for President in 2024…if that's me.

Mike Pence's scathing remarks about Donald Trump at the gala were unexpected.

I was at dinner and I can confirm that Mike Pence really took the room by surprise – a lot of jaws dropped, tweeted Maryam Mujica, a former official with the US State Department.