Donald Trump berated Mike Pence, calling his then-vice president a “wimp” during their final phone call on Jan. 6, 2021, hours before Congress certified the 2020 election of Joe Biden, according to Pence’s previously unpublished notes included in a new book by ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl.
According to court filings, had his case against Trump gone to trial, special counsel Jack Smith planned to use the handwritten notes – hastily scribbled on Pence’s day planner – as evidence to document the hours before Trump allegedly directed a violent mob to storm the Capitol.
“You’ll go down as a wimp,” Trump told Pence about his decision not to block Biden’s certification, according to Pence’s notes about the call on the morning of Jan. 6, just before the president took the stage at the “Save America” rally on the Ellipse. “If you do that, I made a big mistake 5 years ago,” Pence wrote Trump told him.
I only have one good thing to say about Pence: I don’t think a wimp would have made that final decision to certify. On that one decision, he gets my respect.
After hearing those threats, you’re absolutely correct. There was a fucking gallows setup outside for him!
Simply doing his job should not gain him respect. But that’s how low the bar is for these asshats.
Didn’t he have threats on his life for doing it? I think that’s respectable even if he’s not a good person in other ways. We all know many people that would simply capitulate in those circumstances.
I can see your point but to me that’s like watching goodfellas and at the end saying Henry was a good guy after all because he testified against the mob.
Pence was between a rock and a hard place and made a decision based on himself more than saving America or whatever. Looking back, I wonder if he would have tried to go along with the coup, would that have been better long term. It’s doubtful it would have worked, and maybe some real action with consequences would have come about. Now we are stuck with Trump as a dictator.