Trump defends chants by supporters on Jan. 6 threatening to hang Pence

Former US President Donald Trump has defended his supporters' chants threatening to hang Vice President Mike Pence as they stormed the US Capitol on January 6 in an effort to overturn the outcome of the disputed 2020 presidential election, according to a newly released interview.

Trump and his allies had raised concerns that widespread fraud marred the election and that it was rigged by the Washington establishment in favor of Democratic candidate Joe Biden, who was certified as the winner in Congress on January 6.  Pence was overseeing the certification proceedings as vice president. Pence was rushed to safety after some angry protesters called for his execution.

Since then, Trump's supporters have called Pence a “traitor” and targeted him for his role in the Electoral College certification.

In excerpts of an interview with an ABC reporter released on Friday, Trump openly supported the threats to Pence, who has said he was proud of his role in certifying the election results.

Asked about the January 6 crowd's chants of "Hang Mike Pence", Trump said they "were very angry" and he reiterated his claim of widespread voter fraud, according to an audio of the interview, conducted in March by ABC's Jonathan Karl and reported by Axios news outlet, Reuters reported.

"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?" Trump said, according to the report.

Asked if he was worried for Pence's safety, Trump said: "No. I thought he was well-protected, and I had heard that he was in good shape."

Did Pence betray Trump?

Press TV asked American journalist Don DeBar whether Pence betrayed Trump. He commented, “There's a limited set of possibilities. One is that Pence did betray Trump, which assumes that Trump really was fighting the 'insiders' and Pence chose sides with them. I assume that this scenario is possible.”

“Another possibility is that Pence and Trump are both doing a dance for the benefit of us dummies, that they are both on the same side as the people who seem to be persecuting Trump. This leaves half of us 99-percenters fighting with the other half over Trump, Clinton, etc., while the 1% argue over their golf handicaps at the Country Club,” he added.

“The third possibility is that Pence was an insider from the beginning and that, like John Bolton and the others, Trump was forced to take him on for one reason or another. The fourth possibility is that there is no ‘betrayal’ and that Pence's alleged betrayal is being manufactured and publicized in order to have him and Trump turn on each other, a typical police/prosecutor's game. ” DeBar told Press TV.

“I have no idea which and, except for the players themselves, neither does anyone else. My guess, from where we sit, is that Trump represents(ed) either the last gasp or a resurgence of that part of the capitalist class that used to be called 'industrial capitalists' and what we have witnessed since is the resistance of the ruling finance capital to being displaced. We have been in the control of the finance capitalists since Truman took over in 1944 and absolutely since Reagan took over," he said. 

"During Carter's time - in particular, in 1977-1978 - there was a big battle over banking and finance regulation in the United States, and banking and finance won. This was a period of deindustrialization of the unionized West, beginning with Carter and running unabated until Trump's election," he stated. 

"My guess, and it's only a guess - sheer speculation, but derivative out of what we've seen - is that Trump's faction hoped to use the state to regulate finance capital on behalf of industrial capital, to undo the opposite process that began in earnest with Truman," he said, adding "Trump's expression of admiration for China may well represent this.”

Cheney: January 6 attack on Capitol was not a 'false flag operation'

Liz Cheney said that the January 6 attack on the US Capitol was not a “false flag operation” orchestrated by American intelligence agencies in order to get rid of Trump.

On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters occupied the US Capitol while lawmakers were in the process of reviewing the certification of state electors which indicated Biden's victory. Some Trump supporters had hoped that this process could have resulted in some of the electors being disqualified, thus overturning the outcome of the presidential election.

It is claimed by some that the demonstrators were infiltrated and incited by provocateurs from US intelligence agencies, who orchestrated the “false flag operation” in order to get rid of Trump.

Some among the crowd clashed with police, and some made threats to beat up a number of Democratic lawmakers. Some also inflicted damage on parts of the Capitol building.

Trump has been casting doubt on the outcome of his loss by insisting it was the result of fraud. He has said that the 2020 presidential election was “the greatest Election Hoax in history.”

Trump’s claims have significantly delegitimatized the democratic process in the United States. A recent poll has found that at least 50 percent of Republican voters surveyed believe their vote will not be counted accurately the next time they cast a ballot.

Trump hits Christie after he calls on Republicans to move past ‘2020 Election Fraud’ claims

Trump has slammed former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) after Christie urged Republicans to move past the “2020 Election Fraud” claims.

Only 41 percent of Republicans said their vote would be counted fairly, while 50 percent of them said they are not confident their vote would be counted accurately, according to the NBC News poll released last week.

Respondents also questioned the legitimacy of Biden’s presidency. Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they did not think Biden won legitimately in November 2020. Nearly 60 percent of respondents, mostly Democrats, said they thought Biden won the presidency legitimately. Another 4 percent said they were unsure. 

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