In a taped interview, former President Donald Trump appeared to defend the Capitol rioters who chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” on Jan. 6. 

When asked by ABC News’ Jonathan Karl about the chants, Trump justified them by saying, “The people were very angry.” 

The former president again took aim at his vice president for not trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election win when Congress met to certify the results — a power Pence did not have — while repeating false claims about widespread fraud in the election. 

“It's common sense that you're supposed to protect,” Trump said. “How can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right — how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress?”

Trump made the comments March 18 at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in an interview Karl was conducting for his book, “Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show,” which is due out Tuesday.

Axios published a 36-second audio excerpt of the interview Friday.

Trump said in the interview he was not worried about Pence’s safety on Jan. 6: “I thought he was well-protected,” he said, adding: “And I had heard that he was in good shape.”

Leading up to Jan. 6, Trump pressed Pence, who presided over the certification vote, to reject the slate of Democrat electors who voted for Biden in states the president alleged were plagued by fraud or illegal changes to election laws.

“Mike Pence, I hope you’re going to stand up for the good of our Constitution and for the good of our country, and if you’re not, I’m going to be very disappointed in you, I will tell you right now,” Trump said during a rally near the White House just before his supporters stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification vote.

According to the Justice Department, 675 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riot, including more than 200 who have been charged with assaulting, impeding or resisting police officers.

More than 140 law enforcement officers were injured in the Capitol attack, and four people died during the riot.  A fifth person, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, died the following day after suffering two strokes

Pence, members of Congress and others were escorted to secure locations as the rioters began to breach the building. 

Pence and Trump are both potential candidates for president in 2024, although it’s unclear if Pence would run against Trump. Neither has declared for the race.