Former Vice President Mike Pence said, “The American people have a right to know what took place at the Capitol on January 6,” during his address at the Gridiron Club Dinner on Saturday, an annual gathering of Washington, DC, journalists.
Pence highlighted with humor during the speech but spoke seriously about his experiences on January 6.
“Now, I don’t know whether you noticed, but one thing I haven’t joked about is January 6, January 6 was a tragic day for our Nation,” Pence said according to prepared remarks obtained by Breitbart News.
Pence disagreed with Tucker Carlson, who recently questioned the assumed narrative of January 6 after releasing unseen footage earlier this week. He said:
“It was not, as some would have us believe, a matter of tourists peacefully enjoying our Capitol. Tourists don’t injure 140 police officers by simply sightseeing. Tourists don’t break down doors to get to the Speaker of the House. Tourists don’t threaten public officials.
Still, the former vice president declared that “The American people have a right to know what took place at the Capitol on January 6.”
But make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way,” Pence continued. “My wife, daughter, staff and I lived through that day…and we will never ever diminish the injuries sustained, the lives lost or the heroism of law enforcement on that tragic day.
The rest of Pence’s remarks included jokes about his faith, former President Donald Trump, the expected field of 2024 Republican presidential candidates, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“I’m really not as uptight as many people think. There’s this idea that I’m some kind of religious nut. I’m really not. Just ask my sons …Jedediah, Obidiah or Zecharia,” Pence said. “It’s true that I am a man of deep faith. In fact, my preferred pronouns are thou and thine.”
“I do try to share my faith. I once invited President Trump to Bible study. That was an experience,” Pence joked. “He really liked the passages about the smiting and perishing of thine enemies. As he put it, ‘Ya know Mike, There’s some really good stuff in here.’”
Pence also joked about the classified documents that were recently found at his Indiana home:
Sorry I was running a little late tonight, there were a few more boxes I needed to drop off at the national archives. Which reminds me. I read that some of those classified documents they found at Mar-a-Lago were actually stuck in the President’s Bible…which proves he absolutely had no idea they were there.
He noted that he is thinking about entering the 2024 presidential primary and took a shot at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who many consider a top contender for the White House if he decides to run. He said:
So I am thinking about running for president…field is getting crowded…beyond Trump you’ve got: New generation Nikki — totally in her prime. Tim Scott — hopeful vision. And then there’s Ron DeSantis who has those everyman populist qualities that are so relatable..like degrees from Harvard and Yale.
On Buttigieg, Pence joked about him taking “maternity leave” amid thousands of canceled flights in October 2021. Washington Blade reporter Christopher Kane falsely accused Pence of making “homophobic comments” for joking about the Transportation Secretary’s leave. Pence said:
President Biden will probably run but, if not, there’s Pete Buttigieg, who’s an old Indiana friend. When Pete’s two children were born, he took two months maternity leave, whereupon thousands of travelers were stranded in airports, the air traffic system shut down, and airplanes nearly collided on our runways.
“Pete is the only person in human history to have a child and everyone else gets post-partum depression,” the former vice president joked. “The reason I know him is that he was mayor when I was governor. Pete was so popular in Indiana he recently moved to Michigan.”
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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