Pence walks tightrope by trying to appeal to MAGA after J6 in CNN town hall

Mike Pence said he had a sacred duty to defend the Constitution from Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and that his former boss threatened his family with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but refused to condemn the former president during a CNN town hall on Wednesday.

Pence is promoting his new book titled, So Help Me God, and was interviewed by CNN's Jake Tapper.

After a question from a Hoosier from Fort Wayne named Daniela Moloci, who Pence misidentified as Michelle and then Danielle, Pence described his competing loyalties.

"You know, I was always loyal to President Donald Trump. He was my president and he was my friend," Pence said. "But I had one higher loyalty, and that was to God and the Constitution and that's what set into motion the confrontation that would come to pass on Jan. 6 because I had taken an oath to the Constitution of the United States, it ended with a prayer, 'so help me God,' which inspired the title of my book."

Pence said Trump's Jan. 6 tweet saying he lacked courage "angered me greatly" and said Trump "had decided in that moment to be part of the problem."

Tapper pushed back on that point.

"You just said that the president, in that moment, decided to be part of the problem," Tapper said. "And I have to say, as somebody that had been reporting on it for the months leading up to Jan. 6, I don't think anything happened in that moment that was part of the problem. President Trump had been campaigning in favor of the overturning of the election for months and months and months."

"It wasn't in that moment and he wasn't part of the problem, he was the problem," Tapper said.

"Well, look, the people that rioted at the Capitol are responsible for what they did," Pence said.

Tapper asked if Pence was still angry.

"Well, I must tell you, the president's words and tweet that day were reckless, they endangered my family and all the people at the Capitol and I was angry," Pence replied, "But, you know, my Christian faith tells me to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. And in the Christian faith, forgiveness is not optional."

Pence went on to say "I still pray for the president and I pray for the grace to forgive him and all those responsible for that tragic day."

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