He accused Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, of having “literally ran” his campaign vowing to go after Mr. Trump. Mr. Bragg talked about Mr. Trump during his campaign in 2021.

Mr. Pence, who is considering a run for president, added that the indictment had no bearing on his own decision about the 2024 race.

But by virtue of being previously booked on CNN, Mr. Pence was one of the few prospective candidates to comment. Chris Christie and Senator Tim Scott did not comment. Neither did Nikki Haley, who declared her candidacy last month.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who is expected to run but has not yet announced his campaign, called the indictment of Mr. Trump “un-American.” Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the lesser-known Republican contenders, also weighed in, condemning the indictment in a statement as undermining “public trust in our electoral system and our justice system” and urging other candidates to join him in denouncing it.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Pence delivered his strongest public rebuke yet of Mr. Trump, saying that “that history will hold Donald Trump accountable” for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, which he called “a disgrace.”