Trump calls Mike Pence ‘delusional’ in sharpest attack yet on his former vice president

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN

(CNN) — Former President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at Mike Pence, his former vice president and GOP presidential primary opponent, calling him “delusional” and “not a very good person.”

“WOW, it’s finally happened! Liddle’ Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“I never told a newly emboldened (not based on his 2% poll numbers!) Pence to put me above the Constitution, or that Mike was ‘too honest,’” Trump added. “He’s delusional, and now he wants to show he’s a tough guy.”

The comments mark Trump’s sharpest attack yet against Pence, who has rebuked Trump on the campaign trail for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

According to Trump’s third indictment filed earlier this week, Trump told Pence in one conversation on January 1, 2021, that he was “too honest” when the vice president said he lacked the authority to change the results of the 2020 election. The then-vice president broke with Trump on the day of the US Capitol riot and certified the results.

Pence has said several times, including during his campaign launch, that Trump “demanded” he “choose between him and the Constitution.” In response to Trump’s indictments, Pence has maintained the former president is not above the law.

However, Pence hasn’t ruled out pardoning the former president and he told CNN late last month that while Trump’s actions on January 6 were reckless, he’s not yet convinced that they were criminal.

Since his third indictment, Trump – the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination – has ramped up his attacks on Pence, who testified in April to the federal grand jury in the election probe.

Trump falsely claimed in a Truth Social post earlier this week that “The V.P. had power that Mike didn’t understand.” Such claims have been depicted in the indictment as central to his attempt to obstruct the certification of 2020 election results.

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CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Veronica Stracqualursi and Daniel Dale contributed to this story.