'Mute' Pence showed 'cowardice' by staying silent throughout impeachment: Former Ted Cruz spokeswoman

A former aide for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) raked former Vice President Mike Pence over the coals for staying silent throughout former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial.

Writing in The Bulwark, one-time Cruz spokeswoman Amanda Carpenter said it was striking to see Pence remain "mute" during the trial, despite the fact that Trump's supporters targeted him for execution during the January 6th riots at the United States Capitol building.

"Makeshift gallows were erected on the West side of the complex. Members of the mob shouted 'Hang Mike Pence!' as they stormed the halls of Congress, hunting for the vice president, as well as any other officials they could get their hands on," Carpenter writes. "And to this day, the former vice president hasn't had a word to say about his experience."

Carpenter then speculated on the reasons for Pence's grand disappearing act.

"Pence's silence could easily be chalked up to all manner of causes: submissiveness, cowardice, fear, or naked political calculation," she wrote. "Or maybe it's something worse. Ask yourself: Why would Mike Pence bother lifting his voice in defense of his own life if no one else in his party cares to do so?"

She then showed how many Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against impeaching Trump even though he put their own lives in jeopardy when he sent a mob to attack their place of work.

"An attack on their lives isn't enough for them to break with Trump," she argued. "Say what you will about Mike Pence: He knows his tribe."