Chuck Todd tried — and failed — to corner former vice president Mike Pence into commenting on Donald Trump’s ongoing legal troubles on Sunday. Sitting with Todd on “Meet the Press,” Pence refused to directly confront the former president’s federal indictment out of Florida over his mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
“Even in the midst of this tumultuous week, where, what was truly a sad day for the country, that we saw a former president of the United States standing in a courtroom subject to a criminal indictment, I have to tell you that, as I continued to travel, people were still talking to me about the issues that we’re facing in this country, the struggles they’re facing in this economy, the crisis at our border, and the fact that the world’s becoming more dangerous by the day,” Pence told Todd during the pre-recorded interview. “So I’m going to stay very focused there.”
Todd interjected to say that while he understood Pence’s stance, he believed the indictment –the first of its kind to face a former president — deserves a hard line response.
“Look, you’ve got to beat him, so please address it,” Todd said.
Pence continued to dodge.
“I can address that issue,” Pence responded while circling around an answer to whether or not Trump should be convicted if the allegations in the 37 counts are true. He maintained that “no one’s above the law” and that “every American is entitled to a presumption of innocence,” and said that the allegations detailed in the indictment are “serious” and that he could not defend what was alleged.
“But the former president deserves his day in court,” Pence continued. “He deserves the opportunity to make his defense in a court of law. And so I want to — I want to reserve judgment about this until he’s had an opportunity to take his case into the courtroom and take his case to the American people.”
Todd continued to prod Pence for a solid answer, next asking the 2024 presidential hopeful if he would pardon Trump should the former president be convicted and if Pence was voted into the White House.
“Well, I just think the question is premature,” Pence responded. “I mean, honestly, Chuck, I’ve pardoned people who were found guilty of a crime when I was governor of Indiana.”
Todd shot back, “What was your bar for a pardon?”
Pence again refused to take a hard stance on what he would do in that hypothetical, instead choosing to puzzle over why other Republicans eying the GOP nomination assume Trump will be found guilty.
“All we know is what the president has been accused of in the indictment,” Pence said. “We don’t know what his defense is. We don’t know if this will even go to trial. It could be subject to a motion to dismiss. We don’t know what the verdict will be of the jury.”
In a last ditch effort, Todd asked Pence to consider if he would pardon Trump if he were in President Biden’s shoes — which Pence dodged once again.
“I just think this whole matter is incredibly divisive for the country,” Pence said. “I just think at the end of the day, it is saddening to me that we are now in this moment.”
