Former United States Vice President Mike Pence said, "Trump is wrong" during his bombshell speech in Florida on Friday over claims that he had the authority to overturn the 2020 election.
The former United States president and his loyal supporters have continued to claim that his second-in-command had the power to contest the results of the elections that he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Pence said there were people in the GOP that believed he had the authority because he was the presiding officer over the joint session of Congress.
Trump is Wrong
However, in his remarks, Pence pushed back against the claims, saying that former President Trump is wrong and that he, as the vice president, never had the right to reject electoral college votes or overturn the election. He continues to say that the idea of one person being able to choose the president of the United States was un-American.
Pence argued that elections of officials were held at the state level under Article II Section One, and not by Congress. He added that the only authority Congress had with regard to the election was to open and count votes submitted and certified by the states, Fox News reported.
While speaking to people who attended his event near Orlando, Fla. the former vice president said he understands that there were many Americans disappointed with the 2020 election. Pence's comment signifies his strongest public opposition yet to Trump's claims that the elections were a fraud.
Pence has continued to oppose Trump over the latter's pressure campaign on Jan. 6, 2021, which was the same day that the former president's supporters besieged Capitol Hill. However, he has previously stayed relatively silent about the issue, either by declining to directly address Trump or lay blame on the Republican businessman.
In recent days, however, the New York Times reported that tensions between the two former allies have risen as Pence is now seeking a potential 2024 presidential nomination. Trump has responded by pushing more blame onto the former vice president, claiming that he failed to stop Biden's certification.
Pence vs Trump
Trump released a statement on Sunday where he suggested that a recent bipartisan push to revise the counting of Electoral College votes by Congress was proof that Pence had the power to change the results of the election. The proposal, which aims to revise the Electoral Count Act, is quickly moving in the Senate.
Several lawmakers are showing their support of the change, including GOP Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Trump claimed that the proposal shows Pence did have the power to overturn the elections and that officials were now trying to take that authority away.
Addressing the unprecedented Capitol Hill attack, Pence said he was proud that he was able to fulfill his constitutional duty regarding the elections. Despite Trump telling his supporters that the former vice president should have done the right thing and rejected the vote count, Pence said he believed that he was doing the right thing by rejecting the former president, as per CNN.
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