Mike Pence has called Donald Trump's push to overturn the 2020 election "un-American."
According to People Magazine, the 62-year-old former Vice President of the United States touched on the subject of the Capitol riots of January 6 in a speech made at a Republican event in Simi Valley, California, on Thursday, June 24.
Pence addressed the infamous civil disorder, in which a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building and interrupted the congressional affirmation of Joe Biden's victory in the Presidential election.
Speaking to the assembled crowd, he criticized Trump's assertion that the Democrat party was guilty of voter fraud, but also praised the former POTUS as something of a political renegade.
Per the above publication, Pence stated:
Take a look at this video of Pence's speech here:"The Constitution affords the vice president no authority to reject or return electoral votes submitted to the Congress by the states.
"Truth is, there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president."
He then conceded that Trump, "disrupted the status quo. He challenged the establishment, invigorated our movement, and he set a bold new course for America in the 21st century [...] Now, as then, there is no going back."
Mike Pence previously spoke about how he and Trump differed in their views on the riots in a speech made at the Hillsborough County Republican Committee in New Hampshire earlier this month, stating:
Take a look at this video of Pence fleeing the Capitol in the midst of the riots:"You know, President Trump and I have spoken many times since we left office, and I don’t know if we’ll ever see eye to eye about that day.
"But I will always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years."
Pence and his family were forced to evacuate the Capitol as a result of the riot and can be seen fleeing the building in subsequently released CCTV footage of the incident.
Trump was accused by many of inciting the violence in an incendiary speech made to a larger gathering of his supporters prior to the riots.
In it, the former POTUS repeatedly insisted without evidence that the Democrat party was guilty of voter fraud and that Biden had stolen the election.
Per CNN, as recently as May 15, Trump has blamed Pence for not overturning the election result in a statement circulated by his Save America PAC.