LISTEN: Trump defends threats to 'hang Mike Pence' in extended rant

In an interview with ABC's Jonathan Karl, former president Donald Trump blew off concerns that former vice president Mike Pence might have been grabbed by the Jan 6th Capitol rioters and hung, saying he thought he was "in good shape" and safe at the time.

In an audio clip provided to Axios, Trump was asked about the threat to his former running mate and dismissed it out of hand.

"Were you worried about him during that siege? Were you worried about his safety?" Trump was asked.

"No, I thought he was well-protected, and I had heard that he was in good shape. No. Because I had heard he was in very good shape. But, but, no, I think — " the former president blandly replied as Karl interjected, "Because you heard those chants — that was terrible. I mean — "

"He could have — well, the people were very angry," Trump replied before going on an extended rant.

"Because it's common sense, Jon. It's common sense that you're supposed to protect. How can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? — how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress?" Trump asked. "How can you do that? And I'm telling you: 50/50, it's right down the middle for the top constitutional scholars when I speak to them. Anybody I spoke to — almost all of them at least pretty much agree, and some very much agree with me — because he's passing on a vote that he knows is fraudulent. How can you pass a vote that you know is fraudulent? Now, when I spoke to him, I really talked about all of the fraudulent things that happened during the election. I didn't talk about the main point, which is the legislatures did not approve — five states. The legislatures did not approve all of those changes that made the difference between a very easy win for me in the states, or a loss that was very close, because the losses were all very close."

You can listen below: