Former President Donald Trump launched a sharp attack on his former vice president and GOP presidential primary opponent, Mike Pence, calling him "delusional" and "not a very good person."
Trump accused Pence of going to the "Dark Side" and asserted that he never instructed Pence to put him above the Constitution or called him "too honest."
These comments represent Trump's strongest critique of Pence to date, following Pence's public rebukes of Trump's role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Trump's third indictment, filed earlier that week, revealed a conversation on January 1, 2021, where he allegedly told Pence he was "too honest" when the vice president stated he lacked the authority to change the election results. Pence later broke with Trump and certified the results on the day of the Capitol riot.
Pence has stated that Trump "demanded" he "choose between him and the Constitution" and has emphasized that the former president is not above the law.
Despite the tension, Pence has not ruled out pardoning Trump, and he stated that while Trump's actions on January 6 were reckless, he is not yet convinced they were criminal.
Trump, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, has intensified his attacks on Pence following his testimony to the federal grand jury in the election probe.
Trump falsely claimed on Truth Social that "The V.P. had power that Mike didn’t understand," a claim central to his alleged attempt to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election results.