Former President Trump
The excerpt, shared by ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl with Axios, is from an interview Karl conducted with Trump on March 18. The interview is part of a 90-minute interview conducted at Mar-a-Lago and will be included as part of Karl’s forthcoming book, “Betrayal,” according to Axios.
When I interviewed Trump for “Betrayal” and asked him about his supporters chanting “Hang Mike Pence
Michael (Mike) Richard PenceGOP sees inflation as winning issue New ad campaign targets five House Democrats over inflation Jan. 6 panel eyeing 5 people near Pence: report MORE“, he didn’t condemn them, he defended them. Here’s a clip from the interview. More audio from the genuinely shocking interview will air Sunday on @ThisWeekABC pic.twitter.com/MlnhTgw8Cu — Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) November 12, 2021
In the audio clip, Karl asked Trump, “Were you worried about him during that siege? Were you worried about his safety?”
Trump answered, “No, I thought he was well-protected, and I had heard that he was in good shape. No. Because I had heard he was in very good shape. But, but, no, I think … ”
Karl interjected talking about chants that could be heard calling to “Hang Mike Pence.”
“Because you heard those chants — that was terrible. I mean — ” Karl said.
Trump responded saying, “He could have — well, the people were very angry.”
“They were saying ‘hang Mike Pence,’ ” Karl said.
“Because it’s common sense, Jon,” Trump interjected. “It’s common sense that you’re supposed to protect. How can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? — how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress?”
Karl reported that more of his interview with Trump would be reported during ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for Trump and Pence respectively for comment.
The audio clip shows the former president continuing to defend the Jan. 6 insurrection several months after the incident, despite the threats to lawmakers’ safety and that of his vice president.
During a speech in Hillsborough County, N.H., in June, Pence acknowledged that the two may not come to an agreement on what happened during the deadly event.
“You know, President Trump and I have spoken many times since we left office. And I don’t know if we’ll ever see eye to eye on that day. But I will always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years,” he said to applause.
Read More: Trump dismisses rioters’ calls to hang Pence: ‘People were very