Vivek Ramaswamy hit Mike Pence over Jan. 6. He still dodged saying what he would have done differently.

WASHINGTON — Biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has repeatedly dodged addressing how he would have handled the Capital attack on Jan. 6, 2021 – and whether former Vice President Mike Pence did the right thing by certifying the 2020 election results.

Asked by "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd on Sunday about Pence's actions, Ramaswamy said he believes the former vice president missed an opportunity.

“What I would have said is: This is a moment for a true national consensus where there's two elements of what's required for a functioning democracy in America. One is secure elections, and the second is a peaceful transfer of power,” Ramaswamy said. “When those things come into conflict, that’s an opportunity for heroism.”

He said he first would have asked for several election reforms, such as single-day voting on Election Day, paper ballots and government-issued identification matching voter files. Ramaswamy explained that on the condition reforms were enacted, he would have certified the election results.

It wasn't immediately clear how Ramaswamy could have made the election reforms happen, particularly because individual states largely control their own elections. He also didn't answer what he would have done if he was in Pence's place in the wake of the attack, without months or years to enact electoral changes.

While the question of Pence's actions was brought up during the first GOP primary debate last week, Ramaswamy didn’t get the chance to answer it. Other candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, acknowledged that Pence did the right thing.

David James, Pence's press secretary, called Ramaswamy's statement on Jan. 6th "both shocking and concerning in its lack of understanding of how our system of government works."

"In one breathe he joins Nancy Pelosi and radical progressives in wanting to nationalize our election system, and in another he claims that the Vice President has unilateral authority to decide when to certify elections." James told USA TODAY.

But Ramaswamy has also criticized former President Donald Trump's actions after the 2020 election, alleged censorship and more as he's discussed Jan. 6 on the campaign trail. Here's a closer look.

Ramaswamy: A difference between bad judgment and a crime

In his book "Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back," published last year, Ramaswamy criticized Trump's refusal to accept the 2020 election results.

Ramaswamy called Jan. 6, 2021, a "dark day for democracy," in his book, citing: "The loser of the last election refused to concede the race, claimed the election was stolen, raised hundreds of millions of dollars from loyal supporters, and is considering running for executive office again. I'm referring, of course, to Donald Trump."

Trump allegedly asked Pence, in his role as vice president, to reject electoral votes multiple times following the 2020 election, including in one interaction on Christmas Day.

Ramaswamy tweeted a week after the Jan. 6 attack that "What Trump did last week was wrong. Downright abhorrent. Plain and simple."

When questioned about the book and his current views on Jan. 6 on Sunday, Ramaswamy told Todd he would have made "very different" judgments than Trump did that day. But he argued that there's a difference between a bad judgment and a crime.

"When we criminalize those bad judgments, that's an abuse to the justice system," Ramaswamy said, appearing to criticize the two indictments Trump faces for allegedly trying to steal the 2020 election, including federal charges and charges in Georgia. "It undermines trust not only in our elections but in our justice system. We have to be able to draw those distinctions."

It's not the first time he has made the claim. He made similar comments to USA TODAY last month when he said in an interview that there there’s a clear distinction between how Trump handled Jan. 6 and whether he was responsible for it.

"I think that censorship − pervasive censorship − was responsible for January 6 … I believe that's the cause of January 6, but that doesn't mean that President Trump acted in somehow a respectable manner,” Ramaswamy said. “These are two separate things."

Ramaswamy also told USA TODAY that the coupling of COVID-19 restrictions, Twitter’s suppression of a story about Hunter Biden’s laptop and more frustrated many supporters of the former president.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vivek Ramaswamy knocks Mike Pence over his handling of Capitol attack