Mike Pence on Donald Trump: ‘I don’t know if we’ll ever see eye to eye’ on January 6

Former Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged on Thursday that he and former President Donald Trump maintain starkly different views of the riot that unfolded at the US Capitol on January 6.

Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Hillsborough County Republican Committee in New Hampshire, the former vice president said he and Trump have spoken “many times” since leaving office and he remains proud of their accomplishments.

But, Pence added, “I don’t know if we’ll ever see eye to eye on that day.”

While Trump has repeatedly downplayed the insurrection and recently pressured Republican lawmakers not to support a bipartisan commission to probe the attack, Pence offered a somewhat different take during his Thursday appearance in New Hampshire, which comes as the former vice president weighs a White House bid of his own in 2024.

“January 6 was a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol,” he told the crowd.

Pence was rushed out of the Senate chamber as rioters calling for his death stormed the halls of Congress on January 6, while Trump remained at the White House watching the insurrection unfurl. The two men did not speak for several days after the attack and have since gone their separate ways — including on Inauguration Day for President Joe Biden, when Pence remained in Washington to attend Biden’s swearing-in ceremony and Trump left for Florida before it began.

Despite their occasional phone conversations, Trump has continued to criticize Pence and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in his post-presidential statements for allowing Congress to certify the 2020 election outcome.

As recently as May 15, Trump accused Pence in a statement circulated by his Save America PAC of lacking the “courage” to help overturn the election results.