Looking back on the events of Jan. 6, former Vice President Mike Pence told a crowd of California Republicans on Thursday night that he will "always be proud to have played a small part on that tragic day when we reconvened the Congress and fulfilled our duty under the Constitution and the laws of the United States."
Pence delivered his address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley as part of a series of events discussing the future of the Republican Party. On Jan. 6, supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol to try to interfere with the certification of President Biden's victory. Trump falsely claimed that Pence had the authority to stop the proceedings, and some members of the mob shouted, "Hang Mike Pence!"
The former vice president didn't talk about those chants, but did say the "truth is, there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could chose the American president," adding that if Republicans "lose faith in the Constitution, we won't just lose elections — we'll lose our country."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Pence did praise Trump, comparing him to Reagan and saying both men energized the GOP. He called on Republicans to be the "loyal opposition" to Democrats, and said they must stick to "our party's traditional conservative priorities — maintaining a strong national defense, free market economics, traditional values, and the right to life." At the same time, the GOP agenda needs to also include the "new pillars that President Trump brought to the fore as we served — ideas that fired the imagination of everyday Americans and expanded the reach and appeal of the Republican Party."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law? reviewChannel 4 documentary grapples with 'profound' questions about the 'climate apocalypse'
-
How do we calculate mass deaths?
The Explainer Recent revisions to 9/11 victims, Libyan flood casualties and Covid-19 death toll raise questions over estimates
-
Antimatter isn't immune to gravity, landmark experiment confirms
Speed Read Antimatter is the mysterious evil twin of matter, but new research proves they do have something fundamental in common
-
'America's conservative party has collapsed'
Instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Biden creates White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Speed Read The office will be led by Vice President Kamala Harris
-
Hunter Biden: a case of special treatment?
Why everyone's talking about If Hunter's surname weren't Biden, he probably wouldn't be facing these charges, say commentators
-
Government shutdown odds spike as House GOP hardliners thwart McCarthy, spending bills
Speed Read House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's caucus is in disarray, and the US is now hurtling toward an avoidable debacle
-
The Senate's nixed dress code isn't short of mixed reactions
Why Everyone's Talking About Conservatives are taking issue with the axing of a longstanding Senate tradition
-
What might a post-Mitch McConnell GOP look like?
Here's what to watch for as questions about the longtime Senate leader swirl.
-
Is Mitt Romney's retirement the end of a Republican era?
Without the Utah senator, the GOP center might not hold
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
Speed Read
