Former Vice President Mike Pence, during a question-and-answer session at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday, faced several hostile questions from supporters of former President Donald Trump.
"Why did you commit treason on Jan. 6 and not stand by President Trump?" one man, wearing a Boston Red Sox hat, asked Pence, as seen in a video tweeted by Iowa Starting Line.
Other members of the audience booed, as another man stood up, pointed at the questioner and said, "I am a veteran buddy. You shut your mouth."
Another man shouted, "And the Red Sox s**k!"
"No, I got you," Pence said. "I'll answer your question. I'll answer your question."
Trump supporters have accused Pence of treason for refusing to block certification of the 2020 Electoral College results.
The former vice president, standing on a stage before people seated in chairs, then answered the first man's question.
"Look, let me take you to Jan. 20, 2017. I put my left hand on Ronald Reagan's Bible and I raised my right hand and I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, and it ended with a prayer, 'so help me God,' " said Pence, who added that his son, as a Marine, had taken the same oath.
"Now I know you might have a different impression about what my duties and responsibilities were on Jan. 6, and I'm happy to talk to you about it.
"The truth is that states conduct our elections, they do, and once Iowa certifies the elections, when there are questions you can go to court ...
"But when all that was done, if you read Article Two of the Constitution, which I recommend you very respectfully, Article Two says once the states send their electoral votes to the Congress of the United States, the vice president, as president of the Senate, will preside over a joint session of Congress, and what it says is at that joint session the electoral votes shall be opened and shall be counted.
"It doesn't say 'may,' it doesn't say you can send them back to the states, it doesn't say you can reject votes, even though my former running mate and many of his outside lawyers told me that that authority was there. I knew there never was.
"I mean look, there's almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could pick the American president."
Another audience member, referencing a recent debate between Pence and conservative broadcaster Tucker Carlson, asked the former vice president, "How has life treated you since Tucker Carlson ruined your career?"
"You know, I had a very sporty debate with that former talk show host at Fox," Pence said. "And I will tell you, you know, when some people put out a video from that, they cut off the back half of my answer."
Earlier, as Pence made his way through the crowd, he was heckled by Trump supporters at the fair.
"Trump 2024!" shouted one man in a "Make America Great Again" hat and "Team Trump" shirt as Pence could be seen walking through the fairground with his entourage.
Another woman dressed similarly shouted "MAGA!" and "Pence is a traitor!" Iowa Starting Line tweeted.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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