Pence says Trump was wrong that he could have overturned 2020 election

In a sharp admonishment of his former boss, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday Donald Trump was wrong to believe Pence had the power to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election that Trump has falsely claimed was stolen from him.

After losing his re-election bid Democrat Joe Biden in November 2020, the Republican Trump in a bid to stay in office pressured Pence to block congressional certification of the results while presiding over the proceedings on Jan. 6, 2021. Pence, a loyal lieutenant during the four years of Trump's tumultuous presidency, opted not to block certification.

Trump has often disparaged Pence since then, and on Sunday issued a fresh statement saying the former vice president could have "overturned" the election.

"President Trump is wrong," Pence said in a speech to the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. "I had no right to overturn the election."

"The presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people alone. And frankly there is no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president," Pence added.