Mike Pence Calls Trump Out For ‘Totally Unacceptable’ Actions

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Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images

What to Know

01 Mike Pence is promoting his new book, "What Conservatives Believe."
02 During various appearances, he has shared how he really feels about Trump and the Republican Party.
03 On CBS News’ Face The Nation, he called Trump's Anti-Weaponization Fund "deeply offensive."

After his falling out with President Donald Trump, Mike Pence has offered some pretty harsh criticism of his former boss. Pence served as Trump’s vice president from 2017 to 2021, but their relationship fell apart after rioters attacked the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Now, Pence continues to focus on politics, but in the form of writing, advocating, and working as a professor. Recently, though, he has been in the spotlight again to promote his new book, What Conservatives Believe. In a series of interviews, he has spoken out against how the Republican Party has shifted and how there have been attempts to “rewrite” what happened on January 6. He also openly criticized the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which could provide money to Trump allies who were victims of government “weaponization.”

Pence called the fund “totally unacceptable” and “deeply offensive.”

During an appearance on CBS News’ Face The Nation, Pence said, “The idea of creating a fund that could compensate people who assaulted police officers and vandalized the Capitol that day is totally unacceptable. I mean, it’s deeply offensive to me.”

He added that he doesn’t believe Jan. 6 rioters should get even “one dime of taxpayer money.” Pence explained, “People that assaulted police officers on January 6 and vandalized our Capitol should not get one dime of taxpayer money from that fund or anywhere else.”

He also noted there’s been an effort to “rewrite” what actually happened that day.

And he seems to find that offensive as well. “I’m very confident that the judgment of history in the years ahead about our role, about all the Republicans and Democrats who returned that day after Capitol Police secured the Capitol, and we all did our duty under the Constitution,” he said, per The Hill. “… But there’s clearly been an effort by some to rewrite that history…”

And in case you were wondering what he actually meant by that, he specifically called out the White House for blaming others for the insurrection. “Particularly, I was offended on the anniversary of January 6 when the White House put out a timeline that literally blamed Capitol Hill police for the riot that took place that day,” he explained.

Pence’s criticism didn’t end there.

In addition to appearing on Face The Nation, Pence wrote an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal. The op-ed addresses changes within the Republican Party and begins with the question, “Will we remain a party of conservative beliefs, or will we follow the siren song of populism?”

In the piece, Pence questions Trump’s commitment to conservative politics and values. “Mr. Trump makes a distinction between conservatism and common sense,” Pence writes. “In doing so, he reveals that his political commitments are grounded not in conservative principles, but in his instincts, which have often been conservative but increasingly aren’t.”

He addressed the same concerns on Face The Nation and said that as of now, under the current Trump administration, there are more people on the right who are focusing “more on what we’re against than what we’re for” and “more on grievance than a positive conservative agenda.”

Obviously, it seems pretty safe to assume that Pence and Trump don’t have the best relationship at the moment. During a recent appearance in Michigan, Pence told FOX2-TV in Detroit that “it’s been a while” since they last spoke to each other.

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Paige Sheffield (she/her)