Even now, Mike Pence can’t stop making excuses for his former boss - MSNBC

If anyone knows however unsafe Donald Trump tin be, it’s Mike Pence. After all, the erstwhile president put the erstwhile vice president’s beingness successful jeopardy aboriginal past year, arsenic portion of an effort to overturn an predetermination and prehend illegitimate power.

And yet, Pence, arsenic helium eyes a nationalist run of his own, can’t rather bring himself to halt making excuses for his erstwhile boss. The Hoosier sat down with NBC News’ Chuck Todd for an interrogation that aired connected “Meet the Press” yesterday, and it was hard not to announcement conscionable however reluctant the erstwhile vice president was to clasp Trump accountable for, well, anything.

Asked astir the events starring up to the Jan. 6 attack, for example, Pence took purpose astatine Mark Meadows, the then-White House main of staff. NBC News reported:

Former Vice President Mike Pence says helium was “disappointed” successful erstwhile White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for some his relation connected January 6 and for the administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. “I was disappointed successful Mark Meadows’s show arsenic main of staff, peculiarly astatine the end,” Pence told “Meet the Press” Moderator Chuck Todd successful an interrogation connected Thursday.

“He was receiving unspeakable proposal from radical who not lone shouldn’t person been successful the Oval Office, they shouldn’t person been fto connected the White House grounds,” Pence said, referring to the erstwhile president.

In the aforesaid interview, Pence added, “The president’s got to trust connected his elder team. ... [W]hat frankly each the champion White House chiefs of unit person done passim history, is marque definite that the lone radical that get into the Oval Office are radical that person the credibility to beryllium there.”

In different words, arsenic acold arsenic the erstwhile vice president is concerned, it’s not Trump’s responsibility that helium sought retired — and mostly acted connected — the proposal of cranks and charlatans; it’s Meadows’ responsibility for not keeping the cranks and charlatans retired of the White House.

Asked, “Do you deliberation the president committed a transgression enactment successful fomenting the insurrection? Do you deliberation a transgression was committed?” Pence replied, “Well, I don’t cognize if it is transgression to perceive to atrocious proposal from lawyers.”

He took the aforesaid enactment to Fox News a time later, adding, “The assignment of a peculiar counsel is precise troubling. No 1 is supra the law, but I americium not definite it’s against the instrumentality to instrumentality atrocious proposal from your lawyers.”

Part of the problem, of course, is that this is an hold of a atrocious statement — Pence would person america blasted Trump’s lawyers, alternatively of Trump himself — but it’s made worse by the information that the erstwhile president didn’t conscionable instrumentality his cues from misguided attorneys. Was it the lawyers’ responsibility that Trump pressed officials successful Georgia to “find” votes that would amusement him winning? Was it attorneys who told Trump to deploy radicals to onslaught the U.S. Capitol? Did a lawyer archer Trump to enactment Pence’s beingness successful danger?

As for the court-approved hunt astatine Mar-a-Lago, Trump whined connected “Meet the Press” that the Justice Department should person recovered “other ways to resolve” the issue. What the erstwhile president chose to disregard is the information that officials did prosecute “other ways to resolve” the issue: Federal instrumentality enforcement obtained subpoenas, made trips to the glorified play club, and practically begged the erstwhile president to cooperate. He refused.

But to perceive Pence archer it, this messiness should beryllium blamed connected national instrumentality enforcement, not the erstwhile president who took delicate documents that didn’t beryllium to him, refused to springiness them back, and allegedly obstructed the retrieval process.

“I’ve not hesitated to knock the president erstwhile I deliberation helium was wrong,” Pence told Todd. Perhaps. But fixed the circumstances, and the erstwhile vice president’s eagerness to blasted everyone astir Trump, possibly the occupation is that Pence, adjacent now, doesn’t recognize conscionable however incorrect the erstwhile president was?