Rebecca Noble/Reuters
Former Vice President Mike Pence blasted Donald Trump and Republicans who are downplaying the violence of Jan. 6—and praised the media’s coverage of the insurrection—in unusually strong remarks at the Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington on Saturday night. “President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” said Pence, who is mulling a 2024 presidential run. Then he took aim at the revisionist history fueled by Tucker Carlson’s airing of selected security footage from inside the Capitol. “Tourists don’t injure 140 police officers by sightseeing,” Pence said, according to CNN. “Tourists don’t break down doors to get to the Speaker of the House or voice threats against public officials.” Lauding the press, which hosts the dinner, he added, “the American people know what happened that day because you never stopped reporting.”