Loyalty to Trump: GOP convention exposes fissure

Republicans' deep divisions over the 2020 US election were laid bare Friday as the party censured two lawmakers investigating the deadly Capitol assault aimed at stopping its certification -- only to see Donald Trump rebuked by Mike Pence for claiming falsely that his former vice president could have overturned the results.

An extraordinary split-screen began when Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger found themselves rebuked by the Republican National Committee (RNC) over their roles on the House select committee probing Trump's involvement in the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

Just hours after the RNC met in Utah, Pence delivered an address in Florida rejecting Trump's claims that the former Indiana senator could have overruled vote tallies in swing states as he oversaw the congressional certification of Joe Biden's victory.

"President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election," Pence said at a Federalist Society event in Orlando. "The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone."

Trump, who retains his iron grip on the party despite losing in 2020, is expected to run for the 2024 Republican nomination, potentially against Pence.