Donald Trump and Mike Pence host rival rallies in Arizona

• Donald Trump and Mike Pence have held opposing rallies in Arizona.
• Mr Trump accused Mr Pence of failing to prevent President Joe Biden’s reelection in 2020.
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• They clashed after Mr. Trump claimed the election had been stolen from him and wanted his vice president to refuse to certify the results.

Donald Trump and his former vice president, Mike Pence, have held opposing rallies for Republican candidates running for governor of Arizona.

Mr Trump spoke at an event for Kari Lake, who supports his false claims about election fraud, whereas Mr Pence supports Karrin Taylor Robson, her opponent.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence could both run for President of the United States in 2024.

They clashed after Mr. Trump accused Mr. Pence of failing to prevent President Joe Biden’s reelection in 2020.

Mr Trump claimed the election had been stolen from him and wanted his vice president to refuse to certify the results, but Mr Pence determined that this would be illegal.

Mr Trump tweeted that Mr Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country” during the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters stormed Congress in an attempt to overturn the result.

A congressional investigation is currently looking into the riot, which heard on Thursday night that Mr Trump had watched events unfold on TV at the White House, ignoring his children and aides who “begged him” to rebuke the mob.

Ms Lake, a former news journalist, told supporters at her rally in the central Arizona town of Prescott Valley on Friday that “rigged elections” would no longer be tolerated.

Mr Trump followed her on stage, telling the audience that”the election was rigged and stolen and now our country is being systematically destroyed because of it”.

Meanwhile, at a rally in Peoria, Mr Pence endorsed Ms Taylor Robson, saying, “No one worked harder for the Trump-Pence ticket in 2016 or in 2020.”

During his speech, he did not criticize Mr. Trump or mention the election controversy.

However, in a later tweet, he stated that “if the Republican Party allows itself to become consumed by yesterday’s grievances, we will lose”.

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