Trump Voices Support For Rioters Who Screamed 'Hang Mike Pence'

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet

More details have emerged about former President Donald Trump's perspective on the angry mob of his supporters that stormed the Capitol building on January 6.

A new interview highlights Trump's support of rioters who even threatened to hang former Vice President Mike Pence.

Axioshas obtained audio from Trump's upcoming interview with ABC News White House correspondent Jonathan Karl. The excerpt stems from the former president's 90-minute interview with Karl which was conducted at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida back in March for Karl's new book titled, Betrayal.

In the interview, which is scheduled to air on ABC News' This Week, Trump discussed the Capitol insurrection and the former vice president who was also trapped in the federal building with lawmakers.

Here is the excerpt, per Axios:

Jonathan Karl: "Were you worried about him during that siege? Were you worried about his safety?

Trump: "No, I thought he was well-protected, and I had heard that he was in good shape. No. Because I had heard he was in very good shape. But, but, no, I think — "

Karl: "Because you heard those chants — that was terrible. I mean — "

Trump: "He could have — well, the people were very angry."

Karl: "They were saying 'hang Mike Pence.'"

Trump: "Because it's common sense, Jon. It's common sense that you're supposed to protect. How can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? — how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress? How can you do that? And I'm telling you: 50/50, it's right down the middle for the top constitutional scholars when I speak to them. Anybody I spoke to — almost all of them at least pretty much agree, and some very much agree with me — because he's passing on a vote that he knows is fraudulent. How can you pass a vote that you know is fraudulent? Now, when I spoke to him, I really talked about all of the fraudulent things that happened during the election. I didn't talk about the main point, which is the legislatures did not approve — five states. The legislatures did not approve all of those changes that made the difference between a very easy win for me in the states, or a loss that was very close, because the losses were all very close."