前副总统迈克·彭斯和前总统唐纳德·特朗普最近几天就2021年1月6日，国会大厦暴动这加剧了两个昔日伙伴之间的冲突。
彭斯周六在华盛顿的Gridiron晚宴上发表讲话，谴责他的前老板叛乱。
“历史将让唐纳德·特朗普为1月6日负责，”彭斯说，他已经一直在考虑与特朗普竞选2024年共和党总统候选人提名。“毫无疑问:那天发生的事情是一种耻辱，以任何其他方式描绘它都是对体面的嘲弄。特朗普总统错了。他鲁莽的话语危及了我的家人和那天国会大厦的所有人。”
“游客不会仅仅因为观光而伤害140名警察，”彭斯补充道，他提到了其他一些保守派如何试图描述骚乱者。“游客不会破门而入去见议长。游客不会威胁公职人员。”
彭斯还赞扬了观众中的记者，称赞了一个被特朗普痛斥为“人民的敌人”的团体。
“我们能够坚守岗位，部分是因为你们坚守岗位，”他在两年前的袭击中对国会大厦的记者说。“美国人民知道那天发生了什么，因为你从未停止报道。”
尽管彭斯此前指责特朗普制造了骚乱，暗示特朗普呼吁推翻2020年总统大选的呼吁帮助刺激了暴力事件，但他周六的评论异常直言不讳据报道招致了指责来自特朗普。
“我听到了他的声明，我猜他认为做好人是行不通的，因为他在民调中只有3%，所以他认为他还不如不再做好人，”特朗普说告诉一小群媒体周一登上他的飞机。
特朗普还表示，彭斯对没有拒绝乔·拜登赢得的一些选举人负有一些“责任”——这是彭斯没有权力做的事情。
“如果他把他们送回宾夕法尼亚、佐治亚、亚利桑那，我相信是第一个州，你会有不同的结果。但我也相信你不会有我们所说的‘1月6日’。”特朗普说。
尽管如此，特朗普谈到彭斯时说，“他非常努力。他是个好人，我认识他，我们的关系一直很好，直到最后。”
彭斯一直在前往举办早期总统提名竞争的州，并一直含糊其辞地表示，如果特朗普赢得初选，他是否会在2024年支持特朗普。告诉ABC新闻的大卫·穆尔他认为会有“更好的选择”
Gridiron晚宴是政治家和华盛顿顶级记者的白领活动，引用了Twitter和新闻报道。然而，由于会场没有摄像机拍摄彭斯的讲话视频，对它的报道被部分扼杀。
但他即将到来的旅行，包括周四前往新罕布什尔州和周六前往爱荷华州，将有更广泛的媒体报道——特别是在他与特朗普继续决裂的情况下。
彭斯的团队没有立即回应美国广播公司新闻的置评请求。
Pence denounces Trump over Jan. 6 and Trump slams his standing in the polls
Former Vice President Mike Pence and former President Donald Trump have in recent days exchanged sharp words overthe Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, escalating a conflict between the two erstwhile partners.
Pence, speaking Saturday at the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, denounced his former boss over the insurrection.
"History will hold Donald Trump accountable for Jan. 6," said Pence, who hasbeen considering running against Trumpfor the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. "Make no mistake about it: What happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way. President Trump was wrong. His reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day."
"Tourists don't injure 140 police officers by simply sightseeing," Pence added, referencing how some other conservatives have sought to describe the rioters. "Tourists don't break down doors to get to the speaker of the House. Tourists don't threaten public officials."
Pence also offered praise for the journalists in the audience, handing a compliment to a group Trump has lambasted as the "enemy of the people."
"We were able to stay at our post in part because you stayed at your post," he said of the reporters in the Capitol during the attack two years ago. "The American people know what happened that day because you never stopped reporting."
While Pence previously faulted Trump for the riot, suggesting Trump's calls for the overturning of the 2020 presidential election helped spur the violence, his comments on Saturday were unusually blunt andreportedly prompted a rebukefrom Trump.
"I heard his statement, and I guess he decided that being nice isn't working because he's at 3% in the polls, so he figured he might as well not be nice any longer," Trumptold a small group of mediaaboard his plane on Monday.
Trump also suggested Pence shared some "blame" for not rejecting some of the electors won by Joe Biden -- something Pence didn't have the power to do.
"Had he sent them back to Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, the states, I believe, No. 1, you would have had a different outcome. But I also believe you wouldn’t have had ‘Jan. 6’ as we call it," Trump said.
Still, Trump said of Pence, "He’s trying very hard. And he’s a nice man, I’ve known him, I had a very good relationship until the end."
Pence has been traveling to states that host early presidential nominating contests and has been vague on whether he'd back Trump in 2024 if Trump won the primary,telling ABC News' David Muirin November that he thinks there will be "better choices."
Quotes from the Gridiron Dinner, a white-tie event for politicos and top Washington journalists, trickled out over Twitter and via news articles. However, coverage of it was partially stifled by virtue of there being no cameras in the venue to shoot video of Pence's remarks.
But his upcoming travel, including to New Hampshire on Thursday and Iowa on Saturday, will have far more extensive media coverage -- especially amid his continued break with Trump.
Pence's team did not immediately respond to requests for comment from ABC News.
