It would have been better if multiple indictments had not been returned against former President Donald Trump, but now that they have, it's time to "return to first principles," meaning that while nobody is above the law, Trump and his co-defendants are "entitled to the presumption of innocence," former Vice President Mike Pence said in an interview Friday.
"I had hoped that it had not come to this, with multiple indictments against the former president," Pence said on Sirius XM's "The Laura Coates Show." "I was hoping that these matters would be left to the American people and to history."
And, Pence said, on "that fateful day" of Jan. 6, 2021, when violent protests took place at the nation's Capitol as the electors were being confirmed for the election of President Joe Biden and Trump asked him to "choose between him and my oath to the Constitution, I chose the Constitution, and I always will."
"I had no right to overturn the election," Pence told guest host Alice Stewart, a CNN political commentator and Republican strategist. "The Constitution is quite clear about the role of vice president of the United States, that the role under Article II is to preside over a joint session of Congress where objections could be heard, voted on by members of Congress. But the role of vice president in that moment was to oversee a process that would open and count the electoral votes."
Meanwhile, Pence said he hopes Trump will participate in the first GOP primary debate, to be held in Milwaukee on Aug. 23, even while the former president has questioned why he should participate, given his front-runner status in the polls.
"I'm hoping everybody that's running is on that stage, to be honest with you," Pence said. "You know, people sometimes ask me, you know, 'How do you envision debating Donald Trump,' Alice? And I almost invariably say, 'I've debated Donald Trump a thousand times. Just never with the cameras on.'"
Pence pointed out that in nine weeks his campaign was able to reach the Republican National Committee's threshold of 40,000 contributors, "in about half the time of some others that'll be on that stage."
"We didn't offer, you know, gift cards or kickbacks, or even soccer tickets, so we're very humbled by that," said Pence. "In fact, we think we might actually qualify for the second debate before we get to the first one."
He said his debate strategy will be to stress to the American people his determination to bring "a lifetime of experience" to the White House, noting that he was a conservative leader in the House of Representatives and had been a "conservative governor of a successful state that cut taxes and balanced budgets and record employment."
He added that he's "incredibly proud" of the achievements of the administration he and Trump shared, as it "rebuilt our military, revived our economy, [and] appointed conservatives to our courts at every level."
But now, Pence said, "I also want people to know that I'm ready to take those values and go fight for the American people, so I would tell you just, you know, buckle up. It's going to be a great night. There'll be a lot of good people on that stage."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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