Pence Says Trump Is 'Wrong' For Suggesting He Could've Overturned 2020 Election

Former Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech on Friday that he had no legal authority to change the outcome of the 2020 election, rebuking the claim made by former President Donald Trump.

"President Trump is wrong," Pence said during his speech at a Federalist Society event in Florida. "Frankly there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president." Pence's recent comments are the strongest rejection of Trump’s efforts to change the results of the 2020 election, which he has kept relatively quiet on since Joe Biden took over as president. The former vice president, who launched a conservative advocacy group last April, also suggested that the Republican Party would take back the White House in 2024. Trump released a "fiery" statement on Friday night in response to Pence's comments, calling the former vice president “an automatic conveyor belt” for the "Old Crow" Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected President "as quickly as possible."

Pence's comments were prominently covered across the spectrum, with most outlets emphasizing how Trump and Pence's relationship has "soured" in the year since the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Some left-rated outlets noted how Pence "stopped short of completely breaking" off from Trump's base, which remains a large portion of the Republican Party. Many right-rated voices such as National Review (Right bias) expressed how it was "good" to see Pence criticize Trump "forcefully and by name," highlighting how the former vice president's "commitment to the U.S. Constitution and deep faith made him do the right thing in the face of tremendous pressure."