Mike Pence Hoped Donald Trump Would 'Come Around' To Accepting 2020 Election Defeat Before Capitol Riot

Mike Pence explained he didn't challenge Donald Trump's erroneous assertions about a rigged election because he “wanted to be respectful,” adding that “things went downhill” when the former president's followers ultimately stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, per PEOPLE.

In a June 11 night interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, the former vice president shared that he had faith that Trump would “come around” to admitting he lost the election to Joe Biden. He claimed he believed Trump would stop pressing Pence to void the election results. 

Trump has consistently been asserting that Pence had the power to annul the election results in his favor. The duo's relationship deteriorated after Pence publically stated that he lacked that authority in a statement issued the morning of January 6, 2021. 

Trump, who was now enraged, later claimed on Twitter that Pence "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution."

“Sadly, things went downhill from there,” Pence, a former Trump supporter who himself announced a run for the Presidency in June, added. “Don’t you think it would have had an effect if you had come out in mid-December when it was very clear the Electoral College had certified Biden’s win — if you had come out and publicly conceded the election?" Collins asked Pence. “Why didn’t you do that?”

“Well, I wanted to be respectful. Remember, we had about 60 lawsuits that were working, some of which were still in the courts,” Pence responded, adding that numerous lawsuits brought by Trump and his backers were unsuccessful in uncovering any proof of election fraud. Collins claimed that “a lot” of those lawsuits had already been dismissed by judges nationwide. Pence responded, “Well, yeah, a lot of ’em were not, too.”

As lawmakers were tallying votes, Trump's supporters eventually overcame Capitol police and pushed their way inside the building. Four individuals lost their lives due to the incident, and Congress and the vice president were carried away to an undisclosed location. A video from January 6 shows some of Trump's fans yelling “Hang Mike Pence” as they walked around the Capitol; Trump is said to have approved of the chant while viewing the video on television.

Pence eventually did confirm the results for Biden once lawmakers were able to return to the building after the mob was dispersed. The day of Jan. 6 has since been referred to as "a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol."

Trump's daughter Ivanka, lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former aide Nicholas Luna, and Ivanka's chief of staff Julie Radford, among others, testified before a U.S. House committee looking into the riots that the former president had a contentious phone call with Pence hours before the unrest.