Pence blasts Trump over January 6 in harshest comments yet: 'He endangered me and my family'

Mike Pence blasted Trump's words and actions on January 6, 2021, in a new interview.

Pence was "angered" when Trump targeted him in a tweet while Pence was barricaded in the Capitol.

He said Trump endangered him and his family with his statements that day.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence said that Donald Trump endangered him and his family on January 6, 2021, in his most scathing comments yet about that day.

In an excerpt of an interview with ABC News that aired Sunday, Pence described then-President Trump's actions as "reckless" and said he was angered when Trump personally targeted him in a tweet.

Pence was barricaded along with dozens of other lawmakers as rioters descended on the Capitol building in an attempt to halt the certification of President-Elect Joe Biden that day.

At 2.24 p.m., after the riot had begun, Trump vented his frustration at Pence for his refusal to block the certification, tweeting: "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution."

When Pence was asked about this by ABC News' David Muir, there was a long silence before he said: "It angered me."

He continued: "But I turned to my daughter who was standing nearby, and I said, 'It doesn't take courage to break the law. It takes courage to uphold the law.'

"The president's words were reckless. It's clear he decided to be part of the problem."

In another excerpt cited by ABC News, Pence said: "The president's words were reckless and his actions were reckless."

He continued by saying that Trump's comments at the rally before the riot started "endangered me and my family and everyone at the Capitol building."

In June, the January 6 Committee heard how rioters chanted "Hang Mike Pence" at the Capitol — a phrase which then trended on Twitter in the days that followed, as The Guardian reported.

The interview was trailed on Sunday, with further parts to be released Monday. In Pence's memoir, "So Help Me God," to be published on Tuesday, he wrote about his reaction to January 6, saying that the rioters had "desecrated the seat of our democracy" with the attack.

In another excerpt from the book, Pence wrote that his relationship with Trump had badly deteriorated after it became clear that the former vice president would not help Trump overturn the results of the election.