Referring to the January 6 Capitol riots, former US vice president Mike Pence on Thursday acknowledged that he and former President Donald Trump may never agree on what transpired in the incident which left many people dead during the certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory, reported The Hill.
In a speech in Hillsborough County, Pence said: "You know, President Trump and I have spoken many times since we left office. And I don't know if we'll ever see eye to eye on that day. But I will always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years."
He called the day 'dark and tragic', but also accused Democrats of using the events that day to divide the country. Pence further called for the nation to move on from the attack.
"As I said that day, January 6 is a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol. But thanks to the swift action of the Capitol Police and federal law enforcement, violence was quelled. The capitol was secured. And that same day, we reconvened the Congress and did our duty under the constitution and the laws of the United States," he said.
"And I will not allow Democrats or their allies in the media to use one tragic day to discredit the aspirations of millions of Americans, or allow Democrats or their allies in the media to distract our attention from a new administration intent on dividing our country to advance their radical agenda," he continued.
Until Thursday, Pence had mostly avoided discussing the events of January 6, when he was whisked to safety as demonstrators called for him to be hanged. He and lawmakers returned to the congressional chambers to certify Biden's victory once the Capitol had been cleared, The Hill reported.
Pence's comments also marked a rare instance where he acknowledged differences with the former president, who he seldom broke with while in office and has avoided criticising even as Trump has continued to attack him for refusing to reject Biden's victory.
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives had approved legislation last month to form a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
However, the bill failed to garner enough votes in the Senate to overcome the 60-vote legislative filibuster with a vote of 54-35. The White House said in the aftermath of the vote that President Biden remained committed to supporting an independent investigation into the attacks, reported The Hill.
( With inputs from ANI )
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