Read time: 2 minutes 46 seconds
In the days after Jan. 6 emotions were flaring as the country looked on in confusion and horror.
In his new memoir, set to release Nov. 15, former Vice President Mike Pence published an excerpt in the Wall Street Journal discussing the days after Jan. 6.
When pressured by the president to challenge the outcomes of several key states that Joe Biden ended up winning by thin margins, Pence explained to the president that he held no such authority to do so:
“If it gives you the power, why would you oppose it?” the president allegedly asked Pence, referencing the lawsuit from House Republicans that had given the vice president authority over the election results.
In their conversations after the 2020 election, the two men were often at odds over how to handle the current situation.
“‘You can be a historic figure, but if you wimp out, you’re just another somebody,'” Pence claims Trump told him after the 2020 election.
“‘You’re too honest,'” Pence said Trump told him. “‘Hundreds of thousands are gonna hate your guts. … People are gonna think you’re stupid.'”
Within the excerpt were candid moments between the two. Readers were given the impression that despite the chaos surrounding the Executive branch, the two men held a deep respect for one another and what they had done in four years.
“On Jan. 14, the day after President Trump was impeached for the second time, I stopped by the Oval Office,” Pence wrote.
“The night before, he had unequivocally denounced the violence at the Capitol and called for calm and national unity. I congratulated him on his address. ‘I knew you’d like it,’ he said. He seemed discouraged, so I reminded him that I was praying for him. ‘Don’t bother,’ he said. As I stood to leave, he said, ‘It’s been fun.’ ‘A privilege, Mr. President,’ I answered.
“… Walking toward the door leading to the hallway, I paused, looked the president in the eye, and said, ‘I guess we will just have to disagree on two things.'”
“What?” Trump asked.
“I referred to our disagreement about Jan. 6 and then said, ‘I’m also never gonna stop praying for you.’ He smiled: ‘That’s right—don’t ever change.'”
After the events of Jan 6, Trump and Pence held a meeting on Jan. 11 that led to the eventual question that persists to this day: “What if…”
“With genuine sadness in his voice, the president mused: ‘What if we hadn’t had the rally? What if they hadn’t gone to the Capitol?’ Then he said, ‘It’s too terrible to end like this.'”
It is too soon to know what the future holds for either man, speculation continues about Trump’s anticipated announcement for re-election.
Should this announcement be his “big one” scheduled for Nov. 15, it is almost assured that there will be another name that is not Mike Pence’s next to his on the ballot. It could be that the two end up squaring off for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.{eoa}
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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
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