During a rare appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday morning, Republican National Committee (RNC) official Lara Trump deflected questions about a new filing from special counsel Jack Smith that provided evidence suggesting former President Donald Trump may have broken the law.
Speaking with host Dana Bash, Trump’s daughter-in-law evaded a direct question about former Vice President Mike Pence, whose life was reportedly at risk during the January 6 Capitol riots. Bash opened the interview by asking about Donald Trump’s alleged response to the threat posed to Pence.
“I want to turn to something that we learned this week from prosecutors on Donald Trump’s role in trying to overturn the election results in 2020,” Bash said. “When Mike Pence’s life was in jeopardy and aides told prosecutors that Trump said, quote, ‘So what?’ Do you think that’s an appropriate response to the notion that his vice president’s life appeared to be in danger?”
Lara Trump, rather than addressing the question directly, dismissed the situation as a political tactic. “Well, I think that this is a ridiculous ploy,” she responded. “Of course, in 30 days to an election to try and dissuade people from voting for Donald Trump.” She continued to downplay the severity of the January 6 incident, claiming that the issue was being exaggerated.
She then pivoted to a broader critique, saying, “The January 6 situation has been amplified to a level that I don’t think is almost believable to so many people right now when they’re struggling to put food on the table for their families when they’re struggling to fill up their gas tanks.”
She further deflected by discussing unrelated issues, adding, “When you have dog and cat euthanization rates at an all-time high right now because people are going to have to turn over their animals because they can’t afford to have a family pet right now when you have wars breaking out around the world.”
Throughout her response, Lara Trump avoided addressing the specifics of Trump’s remarks about Pence, instead emphasizing what she argued are more pressing issues for Americans. “This is not the top concern for the people of this country,” she insisted. “And the fact that this is coming to the forefront just speaks volumes about the fact that the Democrats probably don’t feel good about their candidate of Kamala Harris.”
Despite Bash’s initial question highlighting a serious allegation about Trump’s indifference to Pence’s safety, Lara Trump’s response focused on deflecting and redirecting the conversation, underscoring her reluctance to engage directly with the topic.