Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, in his most scathing public rebuke of the president for making him his running mate, said Saturday night that “… Donald Trump will be held accountable in history” for the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, which he called “a disgrace.”

The annual Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington is usually a place for light-hearted commentary between politicians, government officials and veterans of the region’s media, but Mr. Pence took the opportunity Saturday to take the blame for Mr. Trump. media commentators and some Republicans in Congress are trying to play down the severity of the uprising outside of Capitol Hill.

“Tourists don’t injure 140 cops on a sightseeing tour,” Mr. Pence said in a silent rebuke to Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson and other conservatives who used selective security footage to portray the riots as mostly peaceful protest. “Tourists don’t break down doors to get to the Speaker of the House or threaten government officials.”

Mr. Pence made his rebuke to Mr. Trump personal when he said, “President Trump was wrong. I had no right to cancel the election results. AND his reckless words that day they put my family and everyone on Capitol Hill at risk. And I know History will hold Donald Trump to account.”

The time of observation was important. Mr. Trump and his ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, are the two leading candidates (and officially) for the Republican nomination, but other potential candidates are closing in. Florida Governor Ron DeSandis is touring states such as Iowa and Nevada. Senator Tim Scott is on an “audition” in the same states. Mr. Pence is also thinking of trying.

Until Saturday, however, any attacks by opponents on the former president and candidate for anointing were muted. Mr. Pence called him by name, setting a new bar for other Republicans hoping to take Mr. Trump’s place as party leader.

Earlier this month, a group of men imprisoned for their part in the Capitol attack released a song called “Justice for All” — the US national anthem but with Trump’s voice swearing an oath in front of the flag — and House Republicans on the right side of the party calls for an investigation into the treatment of such “political prisoners”.

Mr. Pence ruthlessly denounces such efforts, as well as the selective editing of thousands of hours of CCTV footage. “The American people have a right to know what happened on Capitol Hill on January 6th,” he said. “But make no mistake, what happened that day was a disgrace, and it’s an affront to decency to portray it in any other way.”

Jokingly, he also hinted at his presidential ambitions: “I will wholeheartedly and unreservedly support the Republican nominee for president in 2024,” he said. And he added: “So far it’s me.”

Source: New York Times.