On a recent episode of CNN’s “State of the Union,” Mike Pence, the former Vice President and a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, discussed the events surrounding the 2020 presidential vote count.
Host Dana Bash inquired, “I’ve heard the ex-president’s attorneys mention he only requested you to momentarily halt the counting of the electoral ballots. To set the record straight, did he ever ask you to pause the counting, or did he actually ask you to overturn the election’s results?”
Responding, Pence stated, “Based on the public tweets and remarks leading up to that day, it appeared that the former president believed I had the authority to reject or send back electoral votes. However, no vice president in our nation’s history has ever claimed such a power. It’s not within the right of a vice president or president to decide the winner of a presidential election. That choice rests solely with the American populace.”
Continuing his statement, Pence said, “In the days leading up to the event, there were discussions about rejecting electoral votes. Later, there were suggestions from his legal team about sending votes back to their respective states. Yet, on the eve of January 6th, I recall his legal team insisting on outright rejection of the votes. They were essentially asking me to invalidate the election. It was not within my authority to do so. I’m grateful and uplifted by the number of people, from New Hampshire to Iowa and beyond, who commend the position we maintained that day.”
