Pence’s statement came during an interview with ABC’s David Muir, parts of which were released Sunday and parts of which are to be released Monday, Politico reported.
Pence was the target of Trump’s vitriol that day — and afterward — because he declined to take action to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election as the next US president. During the height of the melee inside and outside the Capitol, Trump tweeted: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”
Asked about that tweet by Muir, Pence said: “It angered me, but I turned to my daughter, who was standing nearby, and I said, ‘It doesn’t take courage to break the law. It takes courage to uphold the law.’”
Pence, whose memoir “So Help Me God” is being released this week, added: “The president’s words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem.”