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Mike Pence Says He Hasn't Spoken to Donald Trump For Nearly a Year: 'We Parted Amicably'

donald trump; mike pence
donald trump; mike pence

Getty (2) Donald Trump (L); Mike Pence

Former Vice President Mike Pence said this week he hasn't spoke to his old boss Donald Trump since last summer — a signal that the rift that seemingly stems from the Jan. 6 Capitol riots shows no sign of abating.

"We talked last summer," Pence told Fox News host Jesse Watters on Jesse Watters Primetime Thursday. "And you know I've said many times, it was difficult, Jan. 6 was difficult. It was a tragic day in the life of the nation."

He continued: "I know I did my duty under the Constitution of the United States, but the president and I sat down in the days that followed that, we spoke about it, talked through it, we parted amicably."

Pence was widely criticized by Trump and the Republican base for his refusal to overturn the results of the election won by Joe Biden in 2020.

RELATED: How Dan Quayle Helped Convince Mike Pence Not to Overturn Election, According to New Book: 'Forget It'

On Jan. 6, 2021, a group of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol where Congress had convened and interrupted an electoral vote count with hopes of somehow reversing Trump's loss.

During the mayhem of the riots, Pence, Second Lady Karen Pence, their daughter Charlotte Pence Bond and staff members absconded into a hiding place with seconds to spare thanks to the help of Secret Service agents.

In their book Peril, authors Robert Costa and Bob Woodward wrote that Trump threatened to sever his relationship with Pence if the latter refused to illegally swing the election.

"You can do this. I don't want to be your friend anymore if you don't do this," Trump told Pence after the then-vice president declined to throw the election, according to an excerpt of the book described by CNN.

mike pence
mike pence

Scott Eisen/Getty Mike Pence

RELATED: Donald Trump Says Threats to 'Hang Mike Pence' on Jan. 6 Were 'Common Sense' Because 'People Were Angry'

Trump has since said he wasn't concerned about Pence, even when some of the former president's supporters chanted about hanging the then-vice president.

"I thought he was well protected, and I heard that he was in good shape. No, because I had heard he was in very good shape," Trump told ABC News' Jonathan Karl, who asked if he worried for Pence's safety during an interview for his book Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show.

"You heard those chants," Karl said in the interview, audio of which was obtained by Axios. "That was terrible ... They were saying, 'Hang Mike Pence.' "

"Well, the people were very angry," Trump replied. "It's common sense. It's common sense that you're supposed to protect. How can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? How can you pass a fraudulent vote to Congress?"

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Since leaving the White House, Pence, a former Indiana lawmaker, has been rumored to be mulling his own run for the presidency in 2024, though he hasn't confirmed that speculation.

In 2021, Pence — who was a conservative radio host before he got into politics — launched a podcast covering issues familiar to Republican voters and announced plans to release an autobiography in 2023, part of a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster.

CNN reported the deal was for between $3 and $4 million.