Former Vice President Mike Pence Calls Trump Arraignment ‘Sad Day’ For America

Former Vice President Mike Pence called Tuesday’s arraignment of former President Donald Trump a “sad day” for America before pledging to restore Americans’ faith in the justice system if elected president in an interview with Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro. 

In the wide-ranging interview on Shapiro’s Wednesday show, Pence responded to Trump’s arraignment on federal charges related to his handling of sensitive documents and also touched on key campaign issues like the imposition of transgender ideology on American children. 

“Yesterday was a sad day in the life of this nation. I mean, literally, to see a former president of the United States in the dock and face charges in a criminal indictment, I think is deeply discouraging to millions of Americans,” Pence said, before adding that the charges against Trump are serious. 

“That being said, you know, no one’s above the law. And as Americans, we’re innocent until proven guilty and I had the opportunity to review the indictment over the weekend. And I will tell you, these are serious charges and I can’t defend what is alleged, but the president deserves his day in court,” he added. 

The former vice president said that the case was taking place against the backdrop of “years of politicization in the Department of Justice” and that it was “hard to believe politics didn’t play a role” in the case. He said that, if elected president, he would clean house and restore confidence that there was equal treatment under the law at the DOJ. 

Pence is one of many candidates vying with his former boss to earn the Republican nomination. Pence also faced an investigation into his handling of classified documents, but federal prosecutors declined to file criminal charges. 

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During the interview, Pence also referenced a challenge he was backing to an Iowa school district policy that allows students to begin socially “transitioning” without parental permission.  

“We’ve got to protect our kids from this radical gender ideology that’s taking hold in our country. And as president, I promise you, we’re going to stand up for those values, we’ll always stand for traditional values. But look, we’re going to protect our kids from this radical Left ideology and we’re going to be taking that case everywhere across this campaign,” Pence told Shapiro. 

Pence, who represented Indiana in the House of Representatives from 2001-2013 before becoming governor of the Hoosier State for one term, launched his campaign in a video last week, becoming the first former vice president in the modern era to run against the president he served alongside. 

During the interview, he pointed to other key issues, like the border, President Joe Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal, and the economy, which has seen massive inflation under Biden.