President Trump’s targeting and failure to call off a mob who stormed the U.S. Capitol in search of Vice President Mike Pence has disturbed conservatives, administration colleagues, and allies of the vice president.
“They’re upset with the president for turning on many of them,” said a former Trump campaign official, and in particular, for pointing the finger at Pence after the vice president refused to discard electoral votes certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s win, as Trump urged him to do repeatedly.
“These are reasonable, rational conservatives who believe in the cause, saying, ‘Why in the world would you turn on your vice president who’s been extraordinarily loyal, but also reasonable, rational, is giving you good advice, and has stuck with you this whole entire time?'” this official continued. “The good, the bad, the indifferent, the ugly, he has been there for you.”
Pence was rushed to safety as throngs of pro-Trump rioters pressed inside the building and chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!” A noose was erected outside.
Two rioters were photographed holding a fistful of heavy-duty zip ties and are now among more than a dozen facing federal prison time.
One former White House official who was in touch with Pence’s team in the days leading up to the vote certification told the Washington Examiner that the vice president’s staff were bracing for Trump’s rebuke.
“He’s gonna burn your guy to the ground, first privately and then publicly,” this source said he told Pence’s staff after they asked how he foresaw the events later that week. “They were, like, ‘Yeah …'”
“What are your choices? You’ve got to do it,” the source continued. “And that’s where they wound up.”
The vice president’s office never doubted its decision, this former official said.
Asked if Pence’s team considered Trump’s demands as it prepared the letter, he said, “Not for 10 seconds.”
“It was just a [question of] how much damage are we talking about? The guy who asked me knew the answer, he just wanted me to tell him,” this source said.
The former campaign official said Trump should have taken stock of Pence’s persistent loyalty leading as he considered the vice president’s words.
“If [Pence] turned around and said, ‘Look, the jig is up. There’s no way that I can stem this tide, I can’t stop it. I don’t have the constitutional authority to stop this electoral validation.’ He’s not doing it to be disloyal to you,” this source said. “He’s saying this to you because he’s giving you sound information, and you need to act on it.”
Trump instead singled out Pence to his supporters, pinning responsibility on him.
“So there are people that are very upset about that,” this person said.
Trump’s failure to support Pence may have created a rift.
“I’ve never seen Pence as angry as he was today,” Sen. James Inhofe told the Tulsa World at the time. “I had a long conversation with him. … He said, ‘After all the things I’ve done for [Trump].’”
Trump and Pence had still not talked by early afternoon on Monday, according to reports. Pence arrived at the White House that afternoon and was seen walking toward the West Wing.
House Democrats on Monday introduced an article of impeachment against Trump, accusing him of “incitement of insurrection,” and are planning to vote on a measure calling for Pence to invoke the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland sought to pass the 25th Amendment legislation by unanimous consent on Monday, but it was blocked by Republicans. The House is now expected to proceed with a vote on the 25th Amendment on Tuesday night and on the article of impeachment Wednesday.
Sources close to Pence told CNN over the weekend that the vice president had not ruled out the 25th Amendment.
