'Unconstitutional overreach': Trump VP contenders clash on Jan. 6

WASHINGTON — Barring something monumental — a health crisis, a debilitating legal development — Donald Trump is all but guaranteed to become the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

And potential Trump running mates seem to be working overtime this month to audition for the part.

In doing so, many are contrasting their philosophies and MAGA fealty to that of former Vice President Mike Pence, who Trump long ago dumped from consideration.

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On January 6, 2021, Pence refused calls from Trump and his allies to overturn the results in crucial swing states during a congressional joint session to certify the 2020 election — won by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

So what would any of Trump’s current vice presidential suitors do differently, given the same chance as Pence to certify the 2020 presidential election?

The answer: it depends.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)

Just last week, Stefanik was asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about what she would have done had she been the vice president that day.

Her response, which contained multiple falsehoods, was notable.

“I would not have done what Mike Pence did. I don’t think that was the right approach. … There was unconstitutional overreach in states like Pennsylvania, and I think it’s very important that we continue to stand up for the Constitution and have legal and secure elections, which we did not have in 2020.”

Stefanik, 39, was one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in the House in the midst of his attempts to overturn the election. Even after the attack on the Capitol, she voted against certifying the results in Pennsylvania, a state that Biden won by just over 80,000 votes.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem

Noem, who has campaigned for Trump during the primary, has not definitively said whether she supported Pence’s decision to not block or attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Instead, she’s used a common tactic among Republicans in the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol: condemn the riots, while emphasizing the need for election reform.

“What happened on January 6 was horrible and should never happen again in this country,” she said in January of 2021. “What I want to do is look forward and make sure that we continue to have fair and transparent elections that people can trust.”

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy

Six days after the Jan. 6 attacks, Ramaswamy posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “what Trump did last week was wrong. Downright abhorrent. Plain and simple.”

Since then, though, he has changed his tune, defending Trump’s role in the attack.

During an appearance on NBC News’ Meet the Press in August, the entrepreneur said he would have handled the situation differently than Pence did, although he didn’t offer many specifics.

“I think that there was a historic opportunity that he missed to reunite this country in that window,” said Ramaswamy, who himself ran for president but suspended his campaign after the Iowa Caucuses. “What I would have said is, ‘This is a moment for a true national consensus,’ where there's two elements of what's required for a functioning democracy in America. One is secure elections, and the second is a peaceful transfer of power.”

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson

In the years since, Carson has not said much regarding the events of January 6, or Pence’s role in the certification of the election.

The day of, though, he condemned the attacks on the Capitol, posting on X that “violence is never an appropriate response regardless of legitimate concerns. Please remember: if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”

Shortly after, he told the Washington Examiner that while Trump should have toned down his rhetoric on January 6, he was “not sure that we can say that all this was all one person’s fault.”

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)

Scott, despite his South Carolina ties, endorsed Trump over Haley last month. It marked a surprising pivot from the 58-year-old, but one that has been seen from a number of Congressional Republicans since Trump announced his initial campaign for president in June of 2015.

But at the time, Scott did not object to the certification of election results, and said in a town hall in July of last year that he did “not believe the election was stolen.”

During the first Republican debate in Milwaukee last August, Scott defended Pence’s actions on January 6, saying “absolutely, he did the right thing.”

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley

Haley has been steadfast on the matter. The 52-year-old has consistently defended Pence, making it unlikely that she will be on the ticket — despite it being a move that would unite the party in advance of the general election.

“Mike Pence is a good man. He’s an honest man. I think he did what he thought was right on that day,” she said in February of 2022.

“The fact that he wanted to change what the states did, the fact that he wanted to overturn the elections in D.C. — those votes happen at the state level," she said last month. "You don’t ever allow in D.C. for those votes to be changed at the federal level. States’ rights matter.”

Of course, Haley remains in the presidential race, running against Trump in the Republican primary. Both candidates have incessantly trashed one another. Trump selecting Haley seems implausible.

But for years, Trump and Haley have found themselves in a political make up/break up cycle, and Trump has long shown a willingness to welcome outcasts back into his orbit — if it suits his needs.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum

Burgum condemned the violence at the Capitol on January 6, and told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in August of last year that the party “had to move on to the future.”

The 67-year-old governor, who suspended his own presidential campaign last December, endorsed Trump last month and has been on the campaign trail for the former president.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Sanders, who endorsed Trump in November, said in announcing her Arkansas gubernatorial candidacy in January of 2021 that the events of January 6 were “not who we are as Americans.” A former White House spokesperson for Trump, she has not directly commented on Pence’s role in certifying the election.

Sanders has long touted her time in the Trump White House, and while a longshot for the vice presidential position, could be in line for some Trump administration post in the event the then-78-year-old Trump wins the presidency in November.

Kari Lake

Lake was one of the most vocal backers of Trump’s plot to overturn the election, and even sought to overturn her loss to Katie Hobbs in the 2022 Arizona Gubernatorial race.

In December, she promoted a far-right conspiracy that the events of January 6 were partially staged.

“All that January 6 was, was a staged riot to cover up the fact that they certified a fraudulent election,” she said in August, during longtime Trump advisor Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast. “And frankly, if [Pence’s] got a problem with what happened on January 6th, he should … talk to the folks in the FBI who planted a bunch of you know, rabble rousers in the crowd to cause trouble.”

Lake is currently running for the U.S. Senate in Arizona.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH)

Vance, who has gone from self-proclaimed “Never Trump” conservative to staunch Trump backer, was asked by Stephanopoulos on Feb. 4 what he would have done if in Pence’s position on Jan. 6, outlined an approach that would have differed heavily from that of the then-vice president.

“If I had been Vice President, I would have told the states, like Pennsylvania, Georgia and so many others, that we needed to have multiple slates of electors and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there,” said Vance, who became a senator in 2023. “That is the legitimate way to deal with an election that a lot of folks, including me, think had a lot of problems in 2020.”

Vance, 39, is — along with Scott — the most likely vice presidential choice from the Senate. His conversion to Trump’s wing of the party could pay off come this summer in the form of a spot on the ticket.