‘Traitor’: Trump supporters harangue Pence in New Hampshire

Former Vice President Mike Pence defended certifying the 2020 election for Joe Biden in response to jeers and insults from a crowd of Donald Trump supporters outside a campaign event in New Hampshire.

“Why'd you sell out the people?” a man called out as Pence arrived for a town hall in Londonderry on Friday evening. “Why didn’t you uphold the Constitution?”

“I upheld the Constitution,” Pence said in response. “Read it.”

Protesters in the group were wearing MAGA gear and holding pro-Trump signs, according to footage from ABC News and NBC News.

Pence certified the presidential election results for Joe Biden on Jan. 6, 2021 — a ceremonial duty that preceded the riot at the Capitol and made him the target of the Republican base’s most ardent Trump supporters.

As such, Pence has struggled to gain solid ground in the GOP presidential primary. He has not yet qualified for the August GOP debate: Pence raised just $3.8 million in the second quarter of the year, and he typically polls in the single digits in national and early primary state surveys.

At an NRA convention in April, members of the audience booed Pence from the moment he started speaking. He also had a contentious exchange with Tucker Carlson at a candidate forum in mid-July.

Pence has continued to temper his criticism of Trump's base to not alienate any potential support.

“There is a lot of passion out there. I reject your suggestion that that passion is translated into the violence and the vandalism of that day,” Pence later said, referring to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. “I know the people of this movement — whether they support me or not — are the best people in this country.”

On Tuesday, the former president was indicted over charges that he conspired against the U.S. when attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Pence has indicated that he plans to use the indictment as a line of contrast in the campaign.

“Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States,” the former vice president said in a statement on Tuesday following the news.

Trump also faces federal charges for mishandling classified documents and state charges in connection to alleged hush money payments to a porn star. On Saturday, Pence emphasized the gravity of mishandling classified materials at a national security event in New Hampshire, though he neither mentioned the former president by name nor discussed Trump's classified documents indictment.

"We've got to be deadly serious about handling classified materials in this country," Pence said, before referencing his own "inadvertent" mishandling of documents found in his Indiana home early this year.

"I owned up to it," the former vice president said.

Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing contributed to this report.