Mike Pence  acknowledges 'irregularities' in 2020 election, says Trump was 'reckless' on January 6 in hard-hitting interview with Tucker Carlson

"That was a tragic day," said Pence, responding to Carlson's question about whether the riots on January 6 constituted an insurrection

"I've never used the word 'insurrection,' Tucker, over the last two years," Pence also said. "It was a riot that took place at the Capitol that day."

"A day of tragedy became a triumph of freedom," Pence said, also commenting on the tragic loss of life that the ransacking of the Capitol had wrought.

Pressed by Carlson to specify to whom he was referring with respect to the tragic loss of life, Pence said, "Obviously, Ashli Babbit would come to mind immediately."

Pence said it "infuriated" him to see the assaults on law enforcement officers and the ransacking of the Capitol.

"I'm still waiting for equal vigor and equal prosecutions to be brought on those that brought hundreds of BLM riots to cities across America," Pence said, drawing a comparison with prosecutions related to the riots of January 6.

He emphasized that the BLM riots of the summer of 2020 cost lives and the perpetrators must be held to account.

"Why do you think the people who swarmed the Capitol on January 6 were mad?" Carlson asked.

Pence characterized the January 6 committee as "partisan" and said it failed in its "historic mission" to "bring the facts forward."

Without using former President Donald Trump's name, Pence said the Jan. 6 committee spent too much time "focused on one individual and on placing blame" and that they "spent very little time focusing on law enforcement failures that happened that day and intelligence failures that happened that day."

"American citizens ... were really mad because they thought the election was unfair. ... Why doesn't anyone try to reassure the public that the mechanics of voting are legit? And are they? Do you think the last election was fair?" Carlson asked.

"There were irregularities in the 2020 election," Pence said.

Pence noted that half a dozen states changed the rules around elections based on COVID that "undermined public confidence in the outcome of the election."

But after the recounts were complete and courts upheld states' certifications of the elections in "virtually every instance," Pence said "there's no evidence that the changes would have changed the outcome of the election."

"President Trump's words that day were reckless," Pence said. "I believe whatever his intentions were in that moment, it endangered me and my family and everyone who was at the Capitol that day."

"I believe history will hold him accountable for that."

Carlson asked Pence if Americans can ever be confident in election results as long as electronic voting machines are widely used. "

"I believe we can," Pence said, adding that he is pleased that Republican-led states have enacted election integrity reforms.

He emphasized that voters should have to present a photo ID to cast a ballot in every state in America.

"Why not just get rid of electronic voting machines and call it a day? Then we don't have to debate it," Carlson said, to thunderous applause.

"I would certainly be open to that," Pence said.

Carlson also pressed Pence on his support of the ongoing war in Ukraine, particularly given questions about the extent to which the Ukrainian government has protected the religious freedoms of some Orthodox Christians in Ukraine. Pence insisted that his belief is that Christians in Ukraine are not being prosecuted for their beliefs, but instead claimed that the Ukrainian government was punishing some Russian Orthodox members who were accused of helping the Russian government's efforts to conquer the country.

Other presidential hopeful interviewees at 2023 “Principle over Politics” FAMiLY Leader Summit in Des Moines' Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center include Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Gov. Nikki Haley, and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Watch BlazeMedia’s live coverage of the Summit below, and be sure to stick around for Glenn Beck's interview with Tucker Carlson exclusively on BlazeTV at the conclusion of the Summit.

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