Pence was angered by two Trump statements lying about his Jan. 6 role — which finally convinced him to speak out: report

Mike Pence hadn't planned on criticizing Donald Trump but felt "compelled" after the former president falsely stated that he had the authority to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump issued two statements -- on Jan. 30 and then Feb. 1 -- wrongly describing the powers the vice president had in certifying the presidential election, and Pence told the Federalist Society later that week criticizing his former boss, and he's been encouraged by the positive response the speech has gotten, reported CNN.

"He is not looking for this to be a main storyline," said one person close to Pence, "but if something is falsely said about him, he is going to correct it."

Pence and his team are pleased the remarks weren't met with fury from Trump, and he feels emboldened by praise from conservative media outlets, GOP donors and other Republicans.

Donor engagement in Pence's advocacy group Advancing American Freedom, "has picked up in [the] days since" his widely covered speech, according to one ally, and the vice president's team determined the Federalist Society would be the perfect place to set the record straight, because he'd be facing constitutional scholars and conservative lawyers and not hardcore MAGA fans.

"If there is any audience that is going to understand the details of the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act, it would be the Federalist Society," said one former Pence aide.