John Barrasso declines to criticize Trump for defending ‘Hang Mike Pence’ chants

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) on Sunday declined to criticize former President Donald Trump after he defended rioters who chanted "Hang Mike Pence" on January 6.

During an interview on ABC's This Week, host George Stephanopoulos asked Barrasso about Trump's recent claim that the chants were "common sense."

"Let me just say the Republican Party is incredibly united right now," Barrasso said, deflecting the question. "And it's because of the policies of this administration. And I think the more that the Democrats and the press becomes obsessed with President Trump, the better it is for the Republican Party."

"So you have no problem with the president saying 'Hang Mike Pence' is 'common sense?'" Stephanopoulos wondered.

"I was with Mike Pence in the Senate chamber during January 6," Barrasso replied. "And what happened was they quickly got Vice President Mike Pence out of there certainly a lot faster than they moved the senators. I believed he was safe the whole time. I didn't hear any of those chants. I don't believe that he did either."

"We just played the chants," the ABC News host noted. "I'm asking if you can tolerate the president saying 'Hang Mike Pence' is 'common sense.'"

"It's not common sense," the senator said, refusing to criticize Trump. "There are issues every election. I voted to certify the election. What we've seen on this election, there are areas that needed to be looked into."

"But you're not going to criticize President Trump for those views?" Stephanopoulos pressed.

"I don't agree with President Trump on everything," Barrasso admitted. "I agree with him on the policies that have brought us the best economy in my lifetime and I'm going to continue to support those policies."

Watch the video below from ABC News.