Before I get to the main post, let me clearly acknowledge that former Vice President Mike Pence was a key enabler of Donald Trump who clearly compromised his alleged deeply held beliefs to support Trump’s candidacy, hoping it would propel him to the presidency. I will further acknowledge that he did the right thing (not that it should have been a hard choice) on January 6, 2021. Pence is no hero for performing his basic duties. But, unlike some of his co-partisans, he does have a line and that should be recognized. At a minimum, it is useful to the broader discourse that he is willing to say the following.
“But let’s let’s be clear on this point. It wasn’t just that he asked for a pause. The president specifically asked me — and his gaggle of crackpot lawyers asked me — to literally reject votes, which would have resulted in the issue being turned over to the House of Representatives. And literally chaos would have ensued,” he added.
It is important, for the historical record (and for the here and now) for Pence to be clear that Trump did, in fact, ask him to reject legitimately cast votes. Maybe enough voters will listen and recognize that Trump is unfit for office. And, moreover, these kinds of facts make it all the harder for those who will still vote for Trump to claim that they are not culpable for what that choice entails for American democracy.
“I say that’s completely false. And it’s contrary to American history, to our Constitution and to the laws of this country. And I never considered it, Martha,” Pence responded. “Look, for the first time, I heard speculation that, as vice president, I’d have the authority to overturn the election by returning or rejecting votes, I frankly dismissed it out of hand.”
[…]
“But the American people deserve to know that President Trump and his advisors didn’t just ask me to pause. They asked me to reject votes, return votes, essentially to overturn the election, and to keep faith with the oath that I made to the American people and to Almighty God, I rejected that out of hand, and I did my duty that day,” he added.
Emphasis mine. These are damning statements from Trump’s own vice president.
A question for those readers who still defend Trump: what say you about this clear statement by Trump’s own Vice President?
