Mike Pence Has Harshest Words Yet For Trump's Slam On Him During Capitol Riot

Former Vice President Mike Pence said then-President Donald Trump’s “reckless” rhetoric during the Capitol riot endangered him, his family and members of Congress. (Watch the video below.)

In a clip of ABC’s “World News Tonight” shared Sunday, Pence was asked by host David Muir to respond to Trump’s tweet amid the Jan. 6, 2021, siege that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.”

Trump’s incendiary post referred to Pence’s refusal to stand in the way of Joe Biden’s rightful victory in the 2020 presidential election. Pence had been barricaded inside the Capitol with members of Congress.

Pence fell silent for several seconds after Muir’s question.

“It angered me,” he finally said. “I turned to my daughter, who was standing nearby, and I said, ‘It doesn’t take courage to break the law. It takes courage to uphold the law.’ I mean, the president’s words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem.”

Pence continued: “The president’s words were reckless and his actions were reckless. The president’s words that day at the rally endangered me and my family and everyone at the Capitol building.”

Pence’s new book “So Help Me God” is due out Tuesday.

In one excerpt, the ex-veep said the president told him in a phone call urging him to reject the Electoral College results: “You can be a historic figure, but if you wimp out, you’re just another somebody.”