- Following Trump's indictment, Mike Pence is still defending his former boss.
- He told CNN that the criminal charges on Trump are a "great disservice to the country."
Former Vice President Mike Pence — who a pro-Trump mob threatened to kill during the Capitol riot — found a way to defend his ex-boss former President Donald Trump on CNN.
Speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday, Pence called the "unprecedented indictment" of a former president an "outrage."
"I really do believe that this decision today is a great disservice to the country. And the idea that for the first time in American history, a former president would be indicted on a campaign finance issue to me, it just smacks of political prosecution," Pence said. "And I think the overwhelming majority of the American people will see it that way."
"I know President Trump can take care of himself in the courtroom, and he ought to focus on that right now," Pence added, saying that there's "really no reason to be calling for people to be protesting."
During the interview, Pence also dodged Blitzer's questions on whether Trump should drop out of the 2024 race post-indictment. Trump has already vowed to not let an indictment get in the way of his 2024 ambitions.
Pence was defending his ex-boss on live TV just hours after Trump was indicted in New York in connection with hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump is the first president to ever be criminally charged, and could face prison time if convicted.
Pence's support of Trump, however, comes not only after an indictment, but also after the rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, chanted "Hang Mike Pence." Pence narrowly escaped the Capitol rioters, and has since rebuked Trump for endangering him and his family during the riot with "reckless" statements.
Before the riots, Trump tweeted that Pence did not have the "courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution," a statement that Pence believed put him in danger.
Trump after the riot also justified his supporters' calls to hang Pence, per audio from Trump's March 2021 interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl, obtained by Axios.
"They were saying 'hang Mike Pence,'" Karl told Trump. Trump responded: "Because it's common sense, Jon."
But earlier this year, Trump defended Pence after classified documents were discovered in the former vice president's home in Indiana.
"Mike Pence is an innocent man," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in January. "He never did anything knowingly dishonest in his life. Leave him alone!!!"
In response to Insider's questions, a Pence spokesman directed Insider to watch the former vice president's interview on CNN.